Sustainability and Environment
Researchers Tackle Tradeoffs in Aviation’s Climate Impact
Simply reducing aircraft fuel burn is not necessarily the greenest strategy
NASA’s DC-8 EcoDemonstrator aircraft
© NASA/Jim Ross

To help the aviation industry reduce its climate impact, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have developed a tool that they claim will enable operators to make smarter flight decisions.

In the sector’s quest to curb its contributions to global warming, aircraft operators and manufacturers have consistently focused their efforts on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and contrails that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere.