Aviation Emissions

As the world becomes more aware of our addiction to fossil fuels, people are trying to limit the harm we are doing by burning these fossil fuels. Some people have gone to electric cars or hybrid cars. Then there are those who just point the finger at someone else, which is where a lot of people are pointing at the aviation sector to blame. To be fair though, the aviation sector does burn a lot of fuel and produces green house gases, but contrary to believe the aviation sector only creates about 2% of the total green house gas emissions created by people. (ICAO, n.d.) This isn't as much as most people would expect, but it is also predicted that this could increase by 3-4% each year. (ICAO, n.d.) This growth, if left unchecked could become a larger problem down the road.

One agreement that has been passed and is going into effect in 2020 is the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is not aimed specifically at the aviation industry, but all of the industries around the world. It's aim is to keep the global warming from increasing by 2 degrees Celsius.  (Fountain, 2016) What the Paris agreement does is that it caps the amount of greenhouse gases a company can produce in a year. If the company goes over this amount, they have to buy "Carbon credit" to offset the amount they went over, these are bought from projects that are trying to offset the climate change. These projects are usually forest conservation, alternative energy, and other projects that are combating global warming. (Fountain, 2016).

Under the new administration, there is a possibility that Trump will pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. He feels that it could hurt the U.S. economy if we stay in it. However, I do not know if he will actually follow through with this since he has flipped on some areas that he campaigned against during the elections. I do feel that if the U.S. does stay in the Paris Agreement, a new market for selling "carbon credits" could be started.

There is a real concern with global warming, there have been a lot of studies done showing its existence. Is it as urgent of a matter that is being expressed, I do not know. However, it's better to take care of a problem in smaller chunks before it becomes too large of a problem to fix in a small amount of time.

References

Fountain, H. (2016, September 26). ‘Aviation’s Paris Moment’ as Nations Near Emissions Deal. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/business/energy-environment/aviations-paris-moment-as-nations-near-emissions-deal.html

Aircraft Engine Emissions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Pages/aircraft-engine-emissions.aspx