The forgotten climate damages of aviation

Flying is three times more harmful to the climate than often assumed. Germanwatch puts forward proposals for a precise and fair documentation and reduction of non-CO2 effects.

According to current scientific research, non-CO2 effects cause approximately two thirds of the climate impact of air traffic. To date, politics and the industry neglect these non-CO2 effects in their efforts to achieve climate-compatible air traffic. However, these effects must be fully recorded and reduced in order to comply with the limits set in the Paris Climate Agreement and to end distortions of competition between the different means of transport.

This policy brief recommends how non-CO2 effects and thus the actual climate impact of aviation can be precisely and fairly recorded and reduced.