Cirium, a company that analyses aviation activities, launched its "Global Aircraft Emissions Monitor" at the beginning of November.. This measurement tool gives a very precise idea of the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption generated by airlines.
To obtain its global aviation emissions report card, Cirium uses a series of indicators based on hundreds of flight and aircraft variables for maximum accuracy. These variables include actual flight and taxi times, cabin configuration, aircraft empty weight, assumed cargo tonnage, aircraft type and type of fuel used.
Cirium, a company that analyses aviation activities, launched its "Global Aircraft Emissions Monitor" at the beginning of November.. This measurement tool gives a very precise idea of the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption generated by airlines.
To obtain its global aviation emissions report card, Cirium uses a series of indicators based on hundreds of flight and aircraft variables for maximum accuracy. These variables include actual flight and taxi times, cabin configuration, aircraft empty weight, assumed cargo tonnage, aircraft and engine type, winglet equipment and aircraft age.
Lower consumption not just linked to Covid
According to Cirium, airlines have burned 40 % less fuel for flights in 2021 since the start of the year compared with the same period in 2019.. Cirium certainly attributes the reduction in carbon emissions produced by the drop in flights worldwide. This reduction is due to the impact of Covid-19 on air transport. The number of flights monitored by the analysis company since the start of the year is down by 29 % compared with 2019..
Cirium notes that while fuel consumption has been rising since the beginning of 2021, this is primarily due to the resumption of domestic and international flights. However, the this consumption remains much lower than it was in 2019, before the pandemic. Airlines have been operating their aircraft less. They are also opting for more fuel-efficient aircraft.
For Cirium, carbon emissions and paraffin consumption are increasingly at the heart of the industry's concerns. This concerns airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, air traffic management authorities and fuel suppliers.
The recovery will boost consumption between now and 2039
While aviation has reduced its emissions overall this year, the upturn in travel is expected to reverse this trend from 2022. Cirium forecasts a global recovery to 2019 levels potentially by 2023.
At the same time, Cirium estimates that an expansion of the world fleet will result in a fuel consumption could reach 485 million tonnes by 2039. This is equivalent to 1,530 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Admittedly, this would be twice as much fuel as is currently consumed by aviation. But it would also mean a doubling of aviation's current fuel consumption, this figure does not take into account initiatives in favour of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) or fuel compensation.
Explaining the reasons for the comprehensiveness of the Cirium Global Aircraft Emissions Monitor, Jeremy Bowen, the company's CEO, noted at the time of its launch that ". the objectives set by aviation for achieve zero net emissions by 2050 require an in-depth understanding of all the elements involved in flight operations. Cirium's Global Aircraft Emissions Monitor can therefore pride itself on providing data of the highest quality and validity."
