The “decarbonisation” of air travel has become the driving question of the Paris Air Show, which opened its doors on June 19 outside Paris. Striving to build a game-changing “green plane”, the aviation industry is betting heavily on the development of sustainable fuels. From cooking oil to hydrogen planes, FRANCE 24 breaks down the possible pathways to carbon-neutral air travel – and why some may never make it off the ground.

  •  ffmike   ( @ffmike@beehaw.org ) 
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    41 year ago

    Based on this and other reporting on the subject, I am fairly convinced that the aviation industry cannot and will not become carbon neutral - we’ll continue to see these performative bits of PR as the industry tries to reposition itself, and meanwhile jets will continue to spew greenhouse gases into the sky.

    For a while I tried to convince myself that I was doing the right thing by buying carbon offsets for my flights. But eventually I couldn’t justify that response either. Now I’m one of the folks signed with https://flightfree.org/ and I feel much better.

    • Based on this and other reporting on the subject, I am fairly convinced that the aviation industry cannot and will not become carbon neutral - we’ll continue to see these performative bits of PR as the industry tries to reposition itself, and meanwhile jets will continue to spew greenhouse gases into the sky.

      yeah it’s probable we’ll just have to offset their much-reduced carbon footprint, since i’m doubtful we can get to literally zero flights. there’s just too much utility (and not enough utility/versatility with other modes of transit) to flying to completely get rid of the mode.