The world is becoming a global village they say. We browse through an online market place in China, select what we want, make payment and bang, they are at our doorstep within days. Visiting a new country is everyone dreams and if your pocket is large enough, you get to travel as many times as you desire or duty calls. This has caused us to fly even more.
A flight distance of 5826 miles (9376.019 KM) emit nearly as much greenhouse gas a car would in a year. The aviation industry leads the pack in the league of emission in the transportation sector. Overall, the aviation industry accounts for 11% of all transportation-related emissions in the United States and according to some estimates, there are over 20,000 aircraft all over the world servicing over 3 billion people, this is said to increase to 50,000 planes by 2040 and are expected to fly even more. If we are really committed to keeping our planet’s temperature below the tipping point of 20C then we need to start to throw some cautions to the aviation sector.
Some 11,221,608 air travelers went through Nigeria airports in 2017, according to figures released by the Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The 30 airlines on the international routes operated a total of 13,503 flights and carried 3,575,542 passengers during the period under review. Eight domestic airlines operated a total of 48,319 flights and airlifted 7,646,600 passengers across the country. Thus, airlines on the domestic routes accounted for 68 per cent of the passenger traffic, while the international route recorded 32 per cent. On average, a plane produces a little over 0.02 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per mile. This multiplied by the number of flights in Nigeria alone is worrisome not to talk of global figures
Should we then stop flying?
Flying Is bad for the Planet but we can make it better. Here how we can do:
First, fly less.
The most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is to fly less often. If everyone took fewer flights, airline companies wouldn’t burn as much jet fuel.
According to the World Bank, the average frequent traveler generated about 16.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013 alone; some calculations show that a round-trip flight from New York to San Francisco emits about 0.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person. For perspective, the global average was about five tons of carbon dioxide per person in 2013.
Should we drive instead? The longer the distance, the more efficient flying becomes because cruising requires less fuel than other stages of flight. So it’s certainly better to fly cross-country than to drive solo. If you’re taking a short trip, it may be better to drive. Before you take a flight from Lagos to Asaba or Benin, think about our planet.
Flying nonstop can help, too!
The more times you take off, the more fuel you use. According to a 2010 report from NASA, about 25% of airplane emissions come from landing and taking off. That includes taxiing, which is the largest source of emissions in the landing-takeoff cycle. So rather than take multiple flights on your next trip to the US, take a direct flight. It is not too much to do for the planet that houses us.
If you fly, offset it.
When you buy carbon offsets, you pay to take planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere in exchange for the greenhouse gases you put in. For example, you can put money toward replanting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
You can buy offsets through some airlines. Unfortunately, a large number of us book our flight anonymously. Airspace, for example, gives you options to register and redeem air miles, but how do we even know our air miles when we don’t keep the record. Signing up with your favorite airline will help you determine how frequently you fly. It will also determine your air miles which can then be offset (but most local airlines do this to give a discount and encourage you to fly more with them).
There’s some debate about the best way to offset — where and when tree-planting programs should occur for maximum effect, for example.
“Offsets can provide a useful way to help reduce your climate footprint,” said Peter Miller, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “But it’s important to make sure that you’re getting credible and actual real emissions reductions.”
To make sure that an offset program really does what it says, it has to meet several criteria, including that it be verified by an independent third party. All of the programs used by the major airlines are verified by such groups to make sure they provide the carbon reduction effects that the companies claim. I am not sure if there is any carbon reduction program or plan by local airlines in Nigeria.
Fly coach.
According to a study from the World Bank, the emissions associated with flying in business class are about three times as great as flying in coach. In business class and first class, seats are bigger, so fewer people are being moved by the same amount of fuel. The study estimates that a first-class seat could have a carbon footprint as much as nine times as big as an economy class. At last, coach passengers have something to be happy about: smaller carbon footprints.
Listen to the flight attendants.
Apparently, some of the rules about lowering and raising your window shades could help cut emissions. When you land at a warm destination, flight attendants might ask you to shut your window shades, said Christine Boucher, a director of global environmental sustainability for Delta Air Lines. The reason? It reduces the amount of fuel used to cool the aircraft when it’s sitting at the gate, she said.
This won’t do anything to counteract all the emissions the plane created while flying. But it’s an example of how far airlines will go to save fuel when they can. That helps their bottom lines, but also the environment.
Know your fuels.
Commercial airlines have been using biofuels in some passenger flights since 2011, mixed with conventional petroleum-based fuels in varying amounts. The biofuels, which can come from sources like natural oils, seaweed, and agricultural waste, can help reduce planet-warming emissions from aviation. In 2016, United Airlines started using biofuels in all of its flights out of Los Angeles. The biofuel, made by a company called Altair Fuels, is estimated to cut at least 60% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to regular jet fuel, according to United. (It cuts the emissions used to make the fuel as well as the emissions from burning it.)
Other companies and the American government are working to develop alternative biofuels to use in the airline industry. So far, however, a viable commercial market has not been developed. Africa, how far?
In October 2017, more than 190 countries agreed to reduce the carbon footprint of air travel through a combination of offsets and improvements in efficiency. You can check the fuel efficiency of the airlines you fly.