Planes
Table of Contents
Introduction
"Climate pollution from aircraft is often overlooked, but if aviation were a country, it would be among the top 10 greenhouse gas emitters." - Environmental Defense Fund
Emissions
CO2
"Around 2.4% of global CO2 emissions come from aviation. Together with other gases and the water vapor trails produced by aircraft, the industry is responsible for around 5% of global warming.
At first glance, that might not seem like very big contribution. Except, only a very small percentage of the world flies frequently. Even in richer countries like the UK and the US, around half of people fly in any given year, and just 12-15% are frequent fliers."
Lead
While ground vehicles have de-leaded their fuel, the flight industry apparently has not. Helicopters are now a leading cause of lead emissions in the USA.
Nitrous Oxides
"One pound of the gas warms the atmosphere some 300 times more than a pound of carbon does over a 100-year period." - Stanford Expert Explains Why Laughing Gas is a Growing Climate Problem
Nitrous oxide is more powerful of a greenhouse gas than CO2, but has a shorter lifespan, so reducing emissions of nitrous oxide and methane will have a much faster positive impact on our climate than CO2 reductions, which will take about 100 years to dissipate from the atmosphere.
Air Travel vs People with Disabilities
Flying Has Become Hell for Passengers with Wheelchairs
This 12 minute video talks about the unfairness and harm people in wheelchairs and people with life-saving equipment face every day on airlines.
People are separated from their wheelchairs, subjected to humiliating treatment, and often find upon landing that their custom-built medical equipment has been destroyed in transit.
The US Department of Transportation says that in October, 2022, airlines were damaging an average of 35 wheelchairs and mobility scooters every day.
The air industry is the only travel industry that expects disabled people to be separated from their chairs and equipment, as they have been exempt from ADA rules that apply to trains, buses, and other modes of transportation.
Lead
While ground vehicles have de-leaded their fuel, the flight industry apparently has not. Helicopters are now a leading cause of lead emissions in the USA.
Noise Pollution
Noise from planes and helicopters is a growing problem as air travel increases. The communities near air ports and helipads tend to suffer the most.
For those who live near airports, it is common to lie awake some nights listening to planes flying loud and low, wondering if one is about to crash down.
Subsidized Pollution
"The result of subsidies is artificially cheap ticket prices, which serves to drive up demand and reduce incentives for more sustainable aviation. Removing these subsidies is key to creating a more sustainable aviation sector.
Some of the subsidies include aid given to airports by local, regional or national authorities. Oftentimes this aid is in breach of EU guidelines concerning state aid. Aid is also granted to aircraft manufacturers, including at EU and national level. This aid is provided despite the absence of meaningful CO2 efficiency standards, resulting in a missed opportunity to mandate greater CO2 savings from new aircraft." - Transport & Environment
Click the Financial button to learn more about subsidies and other financial topics affecting our environment.
Solutions
The following are various solutions to avoid flying and to reduce the harm caused by the aviation industry.
Fly Less or Avoid All Together
This is easy for most people since it's estimated that "only 5 percent of the world’s population has ever been on an airplane, and even fewer of the world’s population flies on planes regularly."
Take a Flight-Free Pledge!
Flight Free USA You can pledge to be an infrequent flier, to not fly for a year, or to not fly during the climate emergency.
Work From Home
There are many tools that enable people to collaborate remotely. If your situation allows, make use of them.
Work Locally - Explore Eco-Friendly Jobs in Your Region
Use our Job Finder page to explore eco-friendly amployment opportunities. By finding somewhere close to home, you can avoid excessive travel.
Vacation Locally - Explore Your Region
This can be an enlightening way to gain a new sense of appreciation for your local culture, history, heritage, and wildlife. National parks help protect wildlife while educating the public. As environmental tourism picks up, there are more opportunities than ever to help your local region, while reducing your lifelong impact.
Try "Slow Travel"
If you do have to travel far, consider skipping the 2+ hour airport lines and waiting rooms to enjoy the scenes, foods, and other joys of some locations along the way.
"Slow Travel" refers to using slower modes of transit including existing options such as cycling, riding coach and/or trains.
As air ship travel becomes more available, it could also be a valuable part of the slower, but more sustainable travel industry.
Flight Shame / Flygskam
"Flygskam is changing Swedish travel habits. Some public figures have given up flying, including opera singer Malena Ernman, mother of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. Thirty-seven per cent now say they choose trains instead of flights when possible, up from 20% just 18 months ago. The number of domestic passengers at airports owned by operator Swedavia fell 15% in April compared to the same month last year. It’s affecting business travel too: the main Swedish train operator, SJ, reported a 12% rise in business passenger numbers in the first three months of this year. As more Swedish businesses adopt rail-friendly travel policies, workers are taking the train to meetings in London, Frankfurt and Geneva – the latter involving a 23-hour journey from Stockholm."
Flight Bans
Bans don't have to mean a "total ban of all flights" but could include banning planes which produce certain levels of pollution, certain types of flight, banning flights under a certain capacity (no more ghost flights which fly just to hold airport spots), or banning shorter flights that could reasonably be replaced with other available transit options.
For example, in 2021, "France banned air travel for trips that can be taken by train in under two and a half hours as part of its effort to reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2030." - Flight-Free Movement Grows in Europe
End Subsidies to Polluters
Instead of giving subsidies to companies that spew pollutants and noise pollution, this funding should be rerouted to cleaner alternatives including air ship research, production, and scale up, improved and expanded rail systems, electric and hydrogen buses, as well as improved refueling infrastructure for hydrogen and electric vehicles.
Alternative Fuels
"Hydrogen-electric engines are a superior propulsion system, offering lower fuel and maintenance cost, zero emissions and commercial ranges even when retro-fitted"
Electric Planes
Fuel Cell Planes
Universal Hydrogen "We are building a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. At the airport, the modules are loaded directly into the aircraft using existing cargo handling equipment. No new infrastructure is needed. Starting with regional airplanes, we are also developing conversion kits to retrofit the existing fleet with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain."
Alternatives to Standard Air Travel
The alternatives listed here are organized alphabetically, first by mode: Air, Ground, and Water travel, then by vehicle type. Not all suggestions are better than standard plane travel, but are included to provide basic information and reference.
In the future we hope to reorganize the options listing the most efficient first, and less efficient travel last.
Air
Air Ships
There are several types of air ship which are safer and more environmentally friendly than historical examples. Some companies are working on bringing back lighter than air travel, offering luxury travel for eco-conscious people. Currently there are 3 Good Year air bases in the USA: California, Florida, and Ohio but According to Good Year Blimp's Passenger Guide "Rides aboard the Goodyear Blimp are by invitation only." and "All airship passengers must be fully ambulatory and without physical impairment(s) that could prevent them from moving quickly at the direction of the pilot or ground crew."
Helicopter
This is a much less sustainable option in most ways than flying by plane.
"Each helicopter produces 950 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour. The average car produces 22 pounds per hour. Eight choppers idling on the heliport is like 340 cars idling. Fossil-fuel guzzling nonessential helicopters, such as those used for tourist joyrides, are the antithesis of environmentally-friendly modes of transport. With the extreme negative effects of climate change looming for coastal cities such as NYC (eg., rising sea levels and ensuing floods; deadly heat waves), we must end the use of such carbon-intensive, unnecessary aircraft incessantly flying in our airspace for no good reasons." - Stop The Chop
One benefit is the lower land footprint of helicopter pads or being able to land in isolated regions that might not have a pad, vs having to clear a large area for a runway.
Ground (some Under Water)
Trains
Trains are one of the most efficient and widely available forms of transportation. With one of the lowest carbon footprints, plus the push for many older systems switching to renewable energy, this transport option is becoming increasingly suitable for countries to help meet their carbon reduction goals.
Click the Rail button to learn about different types of rail travel including highspeed, funiculars, trams, and more.
Speed: 15-80mph (24-130km/h) for class 1-4 trains. The fastest train in the world can reach 500km/h.
Pro:
Con:
Solution:
Resources: Older models used coal and water to produce steam. Most steam engines are out of use, but a few have been preserved and still for tourists or remote locations. Diesel has been used for heavy shipping, but modern trains are generall switching to elextric. Some train stations have been upgrading with solar panels on the station roof or nearby, providing an extra charge to some electric trains.
Click the Railways Sytems button to learn more about existing railways around the world, and how to ride them. We've gathered the official websites, route and station maps, how to buy tickets, and more. For some countries we couldn't find official websites, but we found traveler guides to help you find the ticket booth and which bus can get you to or from your station.
Click the Rail button to learn more about rail travel options in general.
Buses & Coaches
Click our Buses button to learn more about buses including which places have free ride programs, what updates can have the biggest impacts on communities as well as other useful info for planners and advocates.
Click the School Buses button to learn more about bus options for students.
Water
Currently most boats and ships pose a variety of health risks to marine life and the planet. Since most shipping and transit required fossil fuels, ports have some of the worst air quality, with small towns visited by cruise ships having worse air quality than many cities.
In addition to the atmospheric pollution, there's very little oversite in how boats or ships handle waste, meaning that a huge amount of plastics (including bottled water), sewage, and other harmful waste is routinely thrown overboard. Bilge waste (the oily pollution found in the bottom of ships) can be seen from space, leaving visible trails crisscrossing the ocean surface.
Noise pollution and collisions are another big problem, especially for migratory species including whales who are deafened by the noise of motors, and can be hurt or killed by speeding vessels.
Sail and electric power can help mitigate both air and noise pollution, but slowing vessels and rerouting them away from critical marine areas can further help protect wildlife.
Click the Wind Power button to learn more about wind power, including sails.
Cruise Ships
Cruise ships cause a huge amount of pollution, both with their emissions and noise. Instead of dealing with their waste responsibly, major cruise companies have been repeatedly fined for dumping sewage and plastics overboard again and again.
On top of this, the cruise ships have been linked to decline of marine ecosystems, by deafening whales and dolphins, as well as by spreading diseases to corals.
Ferry
Ferries can spew out a good amount of emissions, but can also help reduce emissions when sparing people from driving around long bays or flying between islands. Fossil-powered ferries are also pretty loud which can harm organisms such as endangered glass reefs and dolphins. However electric ferries are much cleaner, quieter, and more comfortable for passengers.
Tools & Maps
International
ADSBexchange "operates a bit differently from other flight tracking sites. As a group of aviation enthusiasts, our primary goal is to answer the question of “what’s up there” rather than “is grandma’s flight on-time”.
Explore The Climate Impact of Flying Flight emissions calculator
List of Countries by Airline Passengers This list shows which countries have the most fliers.
Organizations
International
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) "the UN agency responsible for regulating international aviation, set a goal of “carbon neutral growth from 2020” levels. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) it has set up to achieve this goal is extremely unlikely to do so: it will probably cover less than half of international aviation emissions between now and 2035 and is likely to allow compensation without real emission reductions elsewhere. Further, CORSIA is planned to end in 2035 and ICAO currently has no plans for the period after that. The CAT rates the international aviation sector’s carbon neutral growth goal as ‘Critically insufficient’. "
North America
USA
Flight Free USA "We are in a dire climate emergency, flying fries the planet and yet there are about 125,000 daily commercial flights in the world and growing.
Pledge to fly less in 2024 for the climate!"