ABSTRACT
Public and political debates surrounding aviation’s impact on the environment are dynamic and contested. At a global scale, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), particulates, water vapour and other atmospheric pollutants affect the global climate. Although commercial aircraft are only responsible for 2 per cent of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions (IPCC 1999), as other industrial sectors decarbonise and air travel demand grows, aviation’s contribution is likely to increase.
