The climate crisis and aviationโs role ๐๐ฅโ๏ธ
11 facts that will change your view on air traffic and its climate impact #CommonDestination#ReframeAviation
Before Covid, flying caused around 1 billion tonnes of CO2* per year.
That means if aviation were a country, it would be one of the largest single emitters, just behind Japan and ahead of countries like Germany and South Korea.
*Flights have additional climate impacts.
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Flying regularly is not compatible with a 1.5 degree lifestyle.
Just one long-haul flight can emit more CO2 per passenger than what's feasible for staying below 1.5 degrees of global heating.
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If pre-Covid aviation growth rates resume, air traffic alone would contribute a massive 0.1หC to global heating by 2050, as a study by @milankloewer and colleagues from 2021 has shown.
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The inequality of aviation is staggering!
The richest 1% of the world's population is responsible for 50% of aviation emissions. In contrast, around 80% of the world's population has never flown.
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Private jets are the peak of obscene pollution!
A flight on a private jet is 5-14(!) times more damaging to the climate than a scheduled flight per passenger. And private jets are extremely unevenly distributed globally.
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Aviation has contributed more to global heating than entire continents!
Including all its climate impacts, the share of aviation is 4%, whereas Africa, South America and India have each contributed only 3% to the climate crisis.
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Flying is the most climate-damaging means of transport per hour!
Due to speed and long distances, as well as the enormous amounts of energy needed to fly, a flight emits many times more CO2 (and other emissions) than alternative modes of transport.
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What if everyone on earth flew once a year?
Our thought experiment shows: that alone would eat up our remaining carbon budget. Frequent flying and a fair distribution of emissions are not compatible.
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Our climate cannot afford billionaires!
With their jet-set lives, the richest annually squander many times the lifetime emissions of average people. In addition, extreme wealth creates a problematic and undemocratic concentration of power.
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What would happen if everyone flew like the richest Europeans?
If everyone in the world flew like the richest 10% of Europe, aviation alone would cause annual climate pollution equal to 2/3 of the total global emissions in 2019!
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Can we believe the aviation industry's climate promises?
Evidence shows: No.
Aviation lobbies like @IATA and airlines regularly set new climate targets - and just as reliably miss them.
Want to learn how to use these facts best and embed them in transformative narratives? #ReframeAviation
Then sign up now for our free storytelling trainings on aviation and climate justice. In English, German, Spanish and French: stay-grounded.org/training/
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โข โข โข
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#Aircraft #noise can lead to serious health problems, from heart disease to mental health issues, sleep disturbance and hearing damage.
E.g. estimates say night-time aircraft noise near Frankfurt airport leads to 23,400 hospitalisations and 3,400 deaths a year.
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Air quality limits exist for particulate matter - but not for ultrafine particles (#UFP)!
As they are tiny, UFP penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. This affects millions of people, not only those living around an #airport but also several kilometres downwind.
The aviation industry needs to face reality and find a #SafeLanding for the people working within it.ย
Various factors make change inevitable, but we have a choice: design or disaster. Let's choose design!
A thread about our #SafeLanding narrative and when and how to use itย โฌ๏ธ
Transformation can bring us a clean environment, a fair economy and livable future - and better, more secure jobs
To ensure this we need a #JustTransition that is targeted, led by working people, democratic, and part of a society-wide push to put us on track for a fair economy.
Messages to communicate the narrative:
โ Change will happen by disaster or by design, letโs choose design
โ Delaying change is reckless
โ Workers who built the aviation industry deserve a protected future
โ The first stage of transition is putting the brakes on expansion
โผ๏ธA class action lawsuit was filed last week in a Washington State court over health effects and soil contamination from air pollution from aircraft landing and taking off at SeaTac Airport.
The 46 page (double spaced) Complaint will be of interest to many in the US.
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The potential plaintiff class is 300,000 home owners and renters within a 5-mile radius of the airport. The lead attorney is Steve Berman of Seattle, who some years ago won the first (and big) class action suit against the major tobacco companies.
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Defendants: Port of Seattle (which operated the airport), Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines (5th largest in US). The 2 airlines made 24% and 56% of the 287,114 flights into SeaTac in 2020. Albeit knowing about the health effects, the defendants grew facilities and flights.
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1โฃ Private jets are the most polluting option. They emit huge amounts of climate-damaging emissions compared to already highly polluting commercial flights - and especially to low-emissions alternatives like trains. #BanPrivateJets#TaxFrequentFlyers#MakePollutersPay
2โฃ One flight on a private jet causes much more pollution than most people in the world produce in a whole year for meeting all their needs like housing, daily mobility and food. #BanPrivateJets#TaxFrequentFlyers#MakePollutersPay