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M-1B - Aviation

Aviation is a fast-growing subsector of transport and a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions (approximately 1.2% of global CO₂-eq emissions), particularly due to its reliance on fossil jet fuels and the long distances covered by commercial flights. While aviation accounts for a smaller share of global emissions compared to road transport, its impact is magnified by the high-altitude release of pollutants. Mitigation options for aviation include improving aircraft fuel efficiency, developing sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), electrifying short-haul flights, and optimising air traffic management. However, reducing emissions in this sector remains challenging due to the long lifecycle of aircraft and the need for large-scale technological innovations to meet the sector’s decarbonisation goals.

Mitigation Potential

TBD.

Mitigation Options

Chapter 10 (IPCC AR6 WG3 2022)1 discusses a number of mitigation options for the transport sector which are indexed in the table below. A small number of mitigations options only covered in Chapter 8 of the AR5 report (IPCC AR5 WG3 2014)2 are also included here for completeness.

Index Title Section(s) Sub-sector(s) TE(s)
M-1B.1 Increased Aircraft Efficiency AR6 10.5.3 T-1A3 - Aviation T-1A3-2
M-1B.2 Alternative Fuels for Aircraft AR6 10.5.3 T-1A3 - Aviation T-1A3-1
T-1A3-3
M-1B.3 Modal Shift from Aircraft to Train AR6 10.5.3 T-1A3 - Aviation T-1A3-4

Emissions

We estimate that the aviation sub-sector was accountable for 1.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 (584 MtCO₂-eq , see GHG Emissions).

See E-1A3a - Civil Aviation for a summary of IPCC guidelines for emission reporting.

  1. IPCC AR6 WG3. 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by Priyadarshi R. Shukla, Jim Skea, Raphael Slade, Alaa Al Khourdajie, Renée van Diemen, David McCollum, Minal Pathak, et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926. ↩

  2. IPCC AR5 WG3. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change: Working Group III Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Ottmar Edenhofer. Cambridge University Press. ↩

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