(GREEN INTERN) NISHANT TIWARI
INTRODUCTION
In 2018, the aviation industry alone caused 2.5% of the global carbon emissions. In comparison to 2013, the aviation sector’s contribution to carbon emission has increased by 32%. The demand for a more sustainable way of flying is pressurising. Faintly from the background, an environment activist can hear the accentuating pitches of “flygskam,” a Swedish term translated as “flying shame.” The movement of giving up flying unless it becomes friendlier has begun. In 2017, the Swedish singer Staffan Lindberg gave up flying because it destroyed the environment. In 2019 the climate activist Greta Thunberg crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a boat to attend the United Nations summit.
AIRCRAFT INNOVATIONS
‘Green aviation’ does not merely mean limiting carbon emission. It is rather a multidisciplinary angle that involves making the entire aviation sector more environment-friendly. Therefore, from reducing the noise to reducing the fuel usage, it covers everything under the umbrella. Realising the dearth of bringing breakthrough advancements, in the present day, the civil aviation sector spends resources worth $15 billion per year in researching better methods of inducing sustainability and technology development in the field.
Infrastructurally changes are sought to decrease the weight of the aircraft overall. Traditionally, Concord did it by altering the shape of its fleet. Airlines understand that more take-off weight means more fuel consumption, which means expensive rates of operation. To combat the same, there are many solutions that the experts came up with. Amongst them, one was as easy as keeping the aircraft paint light, for example, white and grey. The reason was that these are light shades, their wear-and-tear would not be immediately visible in comparison to dark colours such as blue or purple. This means that the airline can choose to get the fleet re-varnished in a decade without being tensed about tarnishing the brand image. Lesser coating of paint incidentally means a lesser overall weight of the aircraft, thereby helping the airlines to save costs on fuel. Some airlines opt to hire only female attendants to overall reduce the cumulative weight of travellers from their end, as male attendants are usually heavier owing to masculine body structure.
Similarly, to reduce noise pollution, Rolls Royce has worked to produce an engine for both Boeing and Airbus that significantly reduces the engine noise, thereby also resulting in optimisation of compressors, turbines, and fans.
AVIATION FUELS
Major manufacturers of aircraft (Airbus and Boeing) have long initiated their research in the field of searching for alternative fuels when it comes to aviation. In 2010, Airbus introduced A320neo which used nearly 16% lesser fuel than the normal aeroplanes. Following the suit, Boeing released the 787 Dreamliner which took a leap further and reduced fuel emissions by 20%. Since then, Boeing has also released its ecoDemonstrator, which is recyclable aircraft that resultantly overall reduced the weight of the aircraft, its drag, and inter alia, enhances its fuel usage.
‘Sustainable aviation fuels’ are soon to replace the traditional fuels, that too, by giving the same (if, not better) efficiency. In 2019, Etihad airlines empowered a Boeing 787 Dreamliner by making hybrid fuel- a mix of the traditional fuel and eco-sustainable fuel (made from Salicornia, a plant species that inhabitants the Abu Dhabi desert). Biofuel blends are rather coming into vogue with major airlines such as Qantas Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Alaska Airlines, and United Airlines picking up the idea. More than 170,000 flights using biofuel blends have already been made and more are in the pipeline. To facilitate the purpose, airports like Oslo Airport and Bergen Airport of Norway, Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Los Angeles International Airport are also making these alternative aviation fuels available to the airlines for operation.
A KEY TO SUSTAINABILITY: CHANGE IN PRACTICES
Green aviation is a step away from changing a few fundamental practices. Private players have been operating in the aviation sector for decades now. The entry of “no-frills” or ‘Low-Cost Carriers’ (LCC) in the sector has given it a huge boost, apart from making the availability and ensuring that flying does not remail an experience limited to only the creamy layer of the society. This has induced a lot of competition in the aviation market and it is seen as a gold mine for investment. But there still are many airspaces that have not been opened yet for the private players, or else, are monopolised or duopolised by only a few airlines either in the absence of competition or due to uncompetitive practices.
As an ethical general effort, the passengers (given the choice) have always resorted to travelling by planes that result in lesser environmental damage. Therefore, vehement competition in the market would gradually path mandatory path to innovation, and given that, the development of green aviation would be boosted.
Further, the airlines have been lately adopting the methods of leasing and financing in the aviation sector. It means that the aircraft fleet that they possess and operate, is not entirely owned by them. It is taken off ‘lease,’ or in layman’s terms, ‘rent,’ by the aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus or Boeing. This enables the airlines to equip the latest progressive advancements in the aeroplanes at a much cheaper cost than the airlines that believe in acquiring a 100% stake in the fleet. Leasing planes also allow the flexibility of disposing them easily back with the manufacturer without unfortunate hassles of bidding and making lumpsum losses for the degradation of fleet quality. Small steps such as this can take the aviation sector a long way in becoming sustainable and better.
CONCLUSION
Held on the 10th of February 2020, Singapore Air Show (Singapore Aerospace Technology Leadership Forum (SATLF)) saw the launch of the FRAeS reports on required changes in the field of aviation. Other than the increased use of artificial intelligence, the conference deliberated on the new designs, alternative sources of power and methods of operation for the airlines in a more eco-friendly fashion.
It was in 2009 that the IATA (International Air Transport Association) had decided to place strategic targets for the industry of aviation. In its ambit, it also included the ambition of inducing carbon-neutral growth from 2020- which focussed on surging the ideology that even with the increase in profits, the carbon emissions will not increase. As of July 2019, 77% of the international aviation community, which is almost equivalent to 81 nations became a part of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Other efforts also focus on emphasising people to reduce their flying when it is possible to meet the objective virtually, but still, the major onus of bringing the sweeping change lies with the aviation industry. The collaborative effort to turn the aviation industry greener is mammoth-sized, and its significance grows every day. With the pandemic having shaken the sectors deep into their roots, it will be better to grow back, maybe slower, but in a more sustainable fashion. Greener aviation is not an “alternative” anymore, it is a need. An urgent need