Skift Take
Greening the airline industry involves more than just slashing carbon emissions. Contrails are warming the Earth today.
When travelers buy an airplane ticket, they're often made aware of the carbon emissions from their trip. Google Flights and some airlines give fliers an estimate when they check fares, and carriers like British Airways and Qantas offer customers the option to buy carbon offsets or contribute to a "climate fund" in the booking process.
These carbon disclosures are important: Global airlines have set a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. And while the industry as a whole contributes only about 2% of the world's carbon emissions, it's still no small task to effectively decarbonize a carbon-heavy industry.
Planes run on fossil fuels — a lot of them. That's why most airlines are focused on the prospect of low-emission sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF. But SAF production at the scale n