At this peak holiday season the contrails crisscross the skies, and greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation reach their annual maximum. Emissions of carbon dioxide and the water vapour emitted by jet engines account for about 5% of climate heating and research shows this continues to grow.
It is no surprise that rich countries dominate the ratings for most aviation emissions, measured by the airports from which the aircraft start their flights. Britain with Heathrow and other international airports comes third behind the United States and an increasingly affluent China. Fourth is Japan and fifth the United Arab Emirates, achieved with its massive transit airport at Dubai.
With less than 10% of the world’s population taking a plane in any one year, it’s the relatively small number of frequent fliers who are making the biggest contribution to emissions.
It is also no surprise that the richest country, the US, with its vast land mass, has the highest emissions per capita for domestic flights. Australia, with its coastal cities separated by a frequently inhospitable interior, comes second. Norway which is affluent and long and thin, comes third, but the flights were not north-south but between southern cities, so it cannot blame geography. It is the affluence of the average citizen that counts.
