ABSTRACT
Technical breakthroughs are regularly presented as the solution to climate change mitigation, even though speculation on their potential can regularly surpass the real potential of these technologies. Likewise, uncritical reporting on new technologies often fails to adequately address engineering obstacles that have not yet been overcome, or the costs entailed in establishing the infrastructure necessary to replace current technology. In some cases, the information on the emission reduction potential of technology might also be downright wrong, as exemplified by the statement by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA 2009) that ‘Since 1978, ATA airlines have improved fuel efficiency by 110 percent, which has resulted in significant reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2)’. Obviously, it is impossible to improve fuel efficiency by 110 per cent, which essentially would mean that the aircraft generates 10 per cent more energy than it uses to fly. Other reports have suggested aircraft could be powered with solar power, i.e. by equipping wings with solar cells, which is physically impossible given the vast amounts of energy needed to lift aircraft with any significant payload and moving it at commercial speeds (cf. Gössling and Upham 2009). Technology discourses are of considerable importance, however, as they shape public opinion and contribute to the idea that technology can solve all problems while, more realistically, it will be part of, but not the only solution (see also Chapter 8).
