EMERGING CONFIGURATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION

Aviation contributes two per cent of humanmade Co 2 emissions and has challenged itself to reduce net emissions even while demand for air travel and transport has grown significantly

- SUKHCHAIN SINGH

CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BECOME a concern for society now. Aviation contributes two per cent of human-made CO 2 emissions and has challenged itself to reduce net emissions even while demand for air travel and transport has grown significantly. The Air Transport Action Group has pushed the aviation industry to become the world’s first industrial sector to set an ambitious target: reduce CO 2 emissions to half of year 2005 levels by 2050 and to limit the growth of net CO 2 emissions by 2020.

There are three major technological elements to sustainable aviation are:

Continuing to develop aircraft and engine design and technology for improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced CO 2 emissions.

Supporting the commercialisation of sustainable, alternate aviation fuels.

Developing radically new aircraft and propulsion technology and accelerating technologies that will enable the ‘third generation' of aviation.

Other factors, such as efficient air traffic management and aircraft routing that minimises fuel consumption also have a vital part to play. Additionally, the industry has made some significant progress on reducing noise and other environmental impacts.

AIRCRAFT AND ENGINE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY. For the last 40 years, aircraft and engine technology has reduced CO2 emissions by one per cent per passenger mile. This has been the result of significant investments in R&D in materials, aerodynamic efficiency, digital design and manufacturing methods, turbo-machinery developments and aircraft systems optimisation.