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'Elektrofuel' That Increases Aircraft Ticket Prices By Up To 60% Just A Way To Clear Symptoms

Updated: Nov 25, 2020


The new fuel and rising ticket prices will be important to clean up air travel and avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to a new report.


Aviation is responsible for 5 percent of global warming, and is on track to meet a quarter of the planet's annual carbon budget by 2050.


Despite efforts to develop electric aircraft for short-haul flights, air travel is proving to be one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize.


In its analysis, the European green transport group Transport and Environment (T&E) found that replacing fossil fuels in planes with "electro fuels" was "the only technically feasible solution that allows aviation to exist in a world that avoids catastrophic climate change".


This will be a challenge for consumers as well as the industry, as fuel costs mean airfare is projected to increase by 58 percent if replacing kerosene on all planes.


"The good news is that radically cleaner flights are possible even with today's technology," said Andrew Murphy, flight manager at T&E.


“Going to zero starts with the right price and progressively increasing the use of sustainable synthetic fuels.


"There is a cost to this, but given how cheap subsidized air travel is, and the countless costs of climate change, it's a price worth paying."


Electrofuels are produced by combining hydrogen with carbon extracted from CO2. Ideally, hydrogen would be produced using renewable electricity to obtain it from water, and this would be combined with CO2 sucked from the atmosphere.


If such a process were implemented on a large scale, it would be carbon neutral - but it would also cost up to six times more than jet fuel.


In theory, this switch to fuels could be made now using existing aircraft and infrastructure, according to the T&E team. However, to get there they say kerosene cannot still be taxed as it is today.


Implementing a carbon pricing system for kerosene will gradually lower the price gap and help people to cut off this fuel.


The report's authors also note the limited role of biofuels produced from waste materials as a substitute for kerosene. Norway has laid out plans to ensure jet fuel contains a small amount - 0.5 percent - of biofuel starting in 2020.


International aviation has been neglected in recent years in efforts to tackle climate change, but the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest report makes it clear that no sector can be left behind in global efforts to eliminate carbon emissions.


The government is pursuing a UN carbon offset scheme called Corsia, which means polluters pay others to reduce emissions so they can pollute more.


However, the effectiveness of such a scheme has proven controversial, and both the European Commission and the IPCC have stressed the importance of developing new synthetic jet fuels.


"Putting a flight on path to zero will not be easy, but this report shows that it can be done. If we want to be successful, we have to stop pursuing the wrong solutions, "said Murphy.


“It is clear that the United Nations plan to let airlines offset its emissions is the best distraction. We need governments to focus on what matters: the right price and cleaner fuels. The European Commission has a unique opportunity to commit to this in its decarbonization strategy by 2050. "

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