Last edited 1/16/20
Should I stop flying?
The emissions cost of flying has gotten a lot of publicity and this is not without good reason. However, the short answer to the question above is “Maybe.” What can be said with much more certainty is this: Cut down on all fossil-fuel travel.
Broadly speaking, your share of carbon emissions from a passenger flight are not much different from other forms of fossil-fueled travel, mile for mile. Air travel stands out though because the distances are usually quite long.
Individuals (and especially businesses) need to minimize all types of fossil-fuel travel – trains, planes, and cars.
In Europe, where travel by electric trains is widely available, it’s much better to take the train. Without that option in the U.S., however, we need to travel less. There is a very nice article by Ramankutty, Bennett, and Silberman at Ensia.com that discusses what to consider when traveling.
Advocating for electrified transportation will also be incredibly important.
There are two further points to keep in mind. First, airplanes are indeed a significant source of emissions, especially when used to ship goods, and air travel as a whole is on the rise. That has to stop. Second, for people who do fly regularly, it is often a large part of their personal carbon footprint.
How much of an effect on total emissions does flying have?
This gets a little tricky because the calculated emissions depend on several factors. First class seats take up more space and so that equates to more emissions per person. Take off and landing are the most fuel intense, so short flights can be surprisingly emissions intense compared to longer ones. Finally, emissions at high altitude (long flights) have a greater impact than the same low-altitude emissions, and not all flight emissions calculations consider this. Below, we work out a range of emissions based on the calculators given at the end.
The average person in the U.S. is responsible for 16.2 metric tons (MT) of CO2-eq emissions each year. By comparison, the per-person emissions on a round-trip flight from Chicago O’Hare to New York City is about 0.260 to 0.474 MT. That may not see like a lot. If your job is sending you to New York six times a year though, that is about 10% to 20% of your total carbon footprint. (Four round-trips to Los Angeles will do the same.)
Suggestions for cutting back
Weigh your need to travel against the knowledge that carbon emissions are gravely damaging the planet. If your job “requires” travel, question it. What about a video call or meeting? That may seem inconvenient, or not as good as a face-to-face meeting. But travel is inconvenient too; it’s just an inconvenience we’ve gotten used to. The more we demand non-travel options, the more they will be created.
Further Information
You can calculate your emission per flight at airmilescalcultor.com. or the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), where the emissions are on the low side. You can try offsetters.com, which sells carbon offsets, or this very cool map version by flightemissionmap.org, both of which give emissions on the high side.
If you want to join others who are committed to reducing their air line travel check out the Swedish based group “We stay on the ground“. Their document “We Need to Talk about Aviation” that can help you talk to people about air travel and climate. There is a U.S. branch called Flight Free USA.