What a return to supersonic flight could mean for climate change
1 min read
Summary
Climate journalist Sarah Rogerson muses over whether the impending revival of supersonic flight is too carbon intensive for today’s climate emergency.
She points out that the aviation industry is responsible for 4% of global warming to date, and that emissions from aviation could double by 2050, fueled in part by the extra energy required for supersonic flight.
Current alternatives to fossil fuel-based aviation fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), are still in their infancy and are several times more expensive than fossil fuels, says Rogerson.
However, SAFs could potentially eliminate greenhouse gases associated with jet fuel if they were more readily available.