Mitigation of aviation's environmental impact

Aviation affects the environment due to aircraft engines emitting noise, particulates, and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming. Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient (and therefore less polluting) turbofan and turboprop engines, the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation. In the EU, greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006.

At present aviation accounts for 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. Due to projected growth in air travel, in the most technologically radical scenarios for having a better than 50% chance of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, in 2050 aviation will make up 15% of global CO₂ emissions. In more conventional scenarios its emissions will exceed the entire global carbon budget before then. This presents governments and the operators of aircraft with a responsibility to reduce the aviation industry's emissions.

Mitigation of aviation's environmental impact can be achieved through a variety of measures, the most obvious and arguably the most economical of which is to reduce the fuel burn of the aircraft as this accounts for 28% of an airlines costs. However, there is a wide variety of other options available to minimise aviation's growing impact upon the environment as are listed below:

As stated previously, reducing the direct fuel burn of an aircraft is the most obvious and arguably the most economical way of reducing emissions attributable to aviation. Over the last 40 years, commercial jet airliners have become 70% more fuel efficient and are predicted to be another 25% more fuel efficient by 2025.

The next-generation of aircraft, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 and Bombardier CSeries, are 20% more fuel efficient per passenger kilometre than current generation aircraft. This is primarily achieved through more fuel-efficient engines and lighter airframes & supporting structures made of composite materials but is also achieved through more aerodynamic shapes, winglets, a "one-piece" fuselage and more advanced computer systems for optimising routes and loading of the aircraft.

...
Wikipedia