It is on this basis that I believe that any strategies or technologies that seek to reduce our emissions of environmentally damaging, chemicals, gasses etc. are to be considered carefully on the basis of evidence and science and, when efficacious, not to be ignored based on short-term economic or ideological considerations alone.
I am a supporter of strategies that seek to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint in a science based way without resorting to the extremism of those whose would deny the benefits of aviation to humanity and who offer no alternatives save for returning to the proverbial horse and cart (which were environmentally damaging in their own way as well). I would also eschew the science deniers and fact deniers who are as bad or worse than the eco zealots!
All this comes to mind because well-meaning policies often have counter intuitive outcomes and play in the game with the law of unintended consequences where pragmatism often trumps well-meaning but flawed policies. I mean who would have thought the Ryanair might be one of the world’s most environmentally friendly airlines?
This whole thread was precipitated by this excellent article predicated up on this EU policy document.Indeed, OPEC (the intergovernmental organisation of oil-exporting nations) has done much more to bring about fuel efficiency than any European government. The higher the oil cartel pushes prices, the more aggressive airlines and plane makers become about fuel economy.
Ryanair fills an average of 96 per cent of the seats on its jets, a historically high “load factor” that makes the per-passenger environmental impact significantly less than on traditional airlines. Next spring, the airline takes delivery of 737MAX aircraft, which have eight more seats but use one-sixth less fuel.
Road Map To Decarbonising European Aviation
This policy paper, produced by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, presents blue-sky thinking on how to reduce carbon emissions from aviation. By deploying prodigious quantities of renewable electricity to create a fuel usable by current jet engines, the soaring impact of aviation can be curtailed.
The formidable analysis of the scale of the problem, the possible solution and the costs involved, takes about three hours to read thoroughly – conveniently the airborne time for the flight from the UK to my present location in Greece.
I can only concur with the author of that excellent article.Expensive ‘electrofuels’ only way to clean up air travel, report finds
By the time I landed, I had been able to conclude that the researchers have produced an excellent theoretical document. But they are whistling in the high-altitude wind if they believe that the UK, Europe and the rest of the world will pay it more than lip service.
While their wish-list is admirably optimistic, it has about as much chance of coming about as the Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, deciding to jack in aviation and start running Irish Rail.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 96036.html
What do ops-normalisers think?
Caco