Flights are energy-intensive and depend on fossil fuels.
Air travel has become an integral part of our modern world – connecting people and cultures across vast distances in just hours. But at what cost? The convenience of air travel comes with a significant environmental price tag.
Make informed decisions. Understand air travel’s impact on climate change — and what you can do about.
What’s the problem with flying?
Flights are energy-intensive and depend on fossil fuels. Subsidies from fuel taxes give the airline industry an unfair advantage over other transportation modes. Emissions from flights stay in the atmosphere and will contribute to warming it for centuries. Aircraft release emissions high in the atmosphere, triggering chemical reactions and atmospheric effects that heat the planet.
Only three per cent of the global population flies regularly. The consequences of aviation emissions affect everyone.
Will new technologies help make flying sustainable?
Biofuel and electrification requirements could help. But they’re still limited. A recent study showed that decarbonizing aviation with biofuels needs global biofuel production to grow four to five times. That would have a significant impact on land use, including competing with food crops. A NASA study concluded that using 50 per cent aviation biofuel mixtures can cut air pollution from air traffic by 50 to 70 per cent.
Because of battery weight, electrification only works for short-haul flights. Most commercial electric aircraft are used for regional transportation and as air taxis. Despite the challenges, hundreds of electric aircraft designs are under development worldwide. Air Canada bought 30 hybrid-electric passenger airplanes in 2022. These should go into service in 2028, a small step towards Canada playing a role in low-emission flying.
The plane truth: air travel and climate change facts
- One-quarter of all emissions could come from air travel by 2050. Aviation emissions are expected to continue growing rapidly through 2050. Unchecked, the industry could consume a quarter of the carbon budget available to limit temperature increase to 1.5 C.
- Avoiding a return flight from Montreal to London is as climate-friendly as carpooling for two years or being plant-based for three-and-a-half years. If the aviation sector was a nation, it would be among the top 10 global emitters. It’s responsible for 12 per cent of transportation emissions.
- The tourism industry generates eight per cent of global emissions — more than the construction industry!
- Flying is going up nearly five per cent per year. Efficiency improvements have only increased by one or two per cent.
- Airline emissions make up a little more than three per cent of total emissions in Canada.
- Avoiding one flight can equal not driving a gasoline-powered car for a year.
Think twice before you grab a great flight deal for a week away in the sun. It’s not so great when you think about emissions that will contribute to warm the planet for centuries.
Thomas Green, senior climate policy adviser
What’s the best climate response to flying?
Go all the way
Commit to stop flying altogether.
Take some steps
Fly only when necessary and stay longer. When flying for work, group meetings together (or use video teleconferencing). Take direct flights when possible.
Make a small change
If you must fly, increase offsets or temporary lifestyle changes (e.g., carpooling, etc.) to help lower your impact.
Four ways to reduce your carbon "flightprint"
Here are some meaningful decisions you can make.
Fly economy
Business and first-class seats take up more space and account for a larger share of a plane’s emissions. Fly economy instead of business class to improve efficiency and maximize the aircraft’s passenger-to-emissions ratio.
Take direct, non-stop flights
Take direct, non-stop flights to avoid high emissions during takeoff and landing. This can reduce your journey’s emissions significantly compared to multi-leg alternatives.
Take daytime flights
Contrails and cirrus clouds trap heat at night. Sunlight reflects heat during the day.
Choose airlines carefully
Some are taking steps to reduce carbon pollution. Choose those that have an efficient fleet and fly their planes with few empty seats. Many offer offsets to consumers. Some that fly short distances, like B.C.’s Harbour Air, are switching to electric fleets.
What about carbon offsets?
Have you ever received a prompt to donate to environmental projects when buying an airline ticket? That’s an example of carbon offsetting. These are often marketed as a way to “neutralize” emissions from activities like flying. But they come with significant concerns, while the emissions from your flight will remain in the atmosphere. While they can support climate-friendly projects, they’re not a perfect or reliable solution.
Carbon offsetting is often used as a way for businesses and corporations to continue their polluting practices under the guise of being environmentally conscious — a common greenwashing tactic. Studies show that some offset programs link to Indigenous people forced off their land, other human rights abuses and inflated impact measurements.
Relying on offsets as a solution shifts the focus away from necessary systemic changes (e.g., investing in cleaner transportation options, etc.) that will have a greater impact.
