The Race for Biofueled Flight

Last week, the BBC published the news that Air New Zealand will soon be testing a commercial jet powered partially by biofuel and that Virgin Atlantic is also racing to put the first biofueled plane in the air. While biofuel technology is still overcoming hurdles related to availability, potential supply and the carbon intensity of production, it is important that industries such as these are starting to look for workable solutions to the problems associated with fossil fuels (in this case, mostly kerosene). And while air travel accounts for only about 5% of total carbon emissions, it has been the fastest growing sector of emissions in recent years and “the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by air travel doubled between 1990 and 2004.”

As Grist has pointed out, “the best-case scenarios show that flying is no more carbon efficient than driving; the worst-case scenarios show emissions three times higher than driving,” and efficiency gains in the airline industry are much harder to come by than they are for automobiles. But people are unlikely to cut back that much on their air travel out of fear of global warming, so the switch to lower-emission biofuels may be the best solution and could even be encouraged if a carbon tax or cap-and-trade program is put into place. Then, the first airline to significantly lower its carbon output could cut costs and lower fares to gain a competitive advantage. We can dream, right?


Posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 1:53 pm | Tagged in Biofuel, Energy, Global Warming, Pollution | posted by Jamie

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