ASCI 602 Written assignment

.docx

School

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

602

Subject

Geography

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by ProfessorOkapiMaster906

1 Griffin Environmental effects of Australian Aviation The aviation industry in Australia requires collaboration between government, research organizations, and fuel manufacturers to assess environmental impacts. The Queensland Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative (QSAFI) established a study based on the feasibility of three aviation biofuels, fossil energy conservation and GHG mitigation in Australia (Markham, 2018). This paper will outline the production of first and second-generation biofuels and how this impacts the Australian environment. I will discuss noise pollution, overall air quality, and carbon dioxide emissions created by the aviation industry. Aviation traffic is not going away, in fact statistics show aviation to steadily increase over the next decade. With an increase in the demand for air transportation countries need to continually update their research of environmental impact, and the mechanics utilized to reduce harmful emissions. What are the most effective ways of producing and processing aviation fuel, with the least environmental impact? Will Australia be able to maintain research and continue to keep their environment safe as aviation travel increases? I would like to discover how a country like Australia will address the growing concern of the ICAO. I am interested in this particular topic because Australia has already seen major deficits to its oceans, what will the country do to protect its skies. Aviation liberalization is increasingly being promoted in Australia to increase the tourism industry. Lower costing airlines and higher air traffic result in a negative outlook for the Australian environment (Dobruszkes, 2016). A main reason is the higher production of fossil fuels, and carbon emissions. Australia recognized that a program had to be implemented to substitute fossil fuels with equally acceptable biofuels. A study was conducted to distinguish discernible differences between the two fuels, the test itself measured the potential greenhouse

2 Griffin gas emissions (GHG) (Brinsmead, 2015). By modeling environmental impacts of three pathways for aviation biofuel in Australia (microalgae, pongamia, and sugarcane molasses) the QSAFI was able to research and create hypothesis about the environmental impacts of aviation biofuel (Cox, 2014). What is important about this study is the QSAFI was able to discern whether or not the GHG abatement potential of the aviation biofuel can be harness sustainably. These three feedstocks were the main focus of QSAFI because they can be produced in commercial quantities under Queensland conditions. A key criterion for the study was Queensland’s ability to produce large quantities of feedstock (Cox, 2014). Sugarcane molasses is a by-product of raw sugar from sugarcane; which is a major commercial crop in Queensland. Pongamia is a tree that has become naturalized in Australia and readily available. Microalgae are promising due to their high photosynthetic efficiency, high biomass productivity per unit area, and the flexibility of growth (Cox, 2014). The conclusion of their testing was that the biofuels modeled did have the same properties within operational specifications of acceptable jet fuel. The ongoing increase in air travel inevitably causes an intractable environmental problem. In Australia the amount of aviation fuel per head of population over time has seen a consistent and sharp increase (Markham, 2018). Demand for aviation will continue to increase and countries like Australia need to find a suitable option to reduce aviation emissions. It is a difficult task to keep improving engines and reduce emissions, when the aircrafts are only getting bigger, faster, and flying longer distances. The substitution of airline energy has yet to experience a break through. Clean technology will need to be the main focus point for the IATA, ICAO, FAA, and government subsidies. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) established an initiative to achieve carbon-neutral growth by year 2020. Quickly the initiative developed the name CNG2020 and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)

3 Griffin committed to work with ICAO and government subsidies with industry and close any gap between emissions and the CNG2020 aspirational goal (Markham, 2018). Carbon pricing became the sought-after goal of these associations. Australian Air Travel is mainly structured by the population and employment distribution (Fuellhart and O’Connor, 2013). Domestic air travel demand has two major important driving factors. Income available to households and businesses, and the price of travel (Choi, 2018). Carbon pricing intended to effect both the price of air travel, and income of households. The effectiveness of the Australian ‘Clean Energy Future’ policy is based off the findings that carbon prices are unlikely to substantially reduce air travel, carbon pricing effectively reduced emissions, therefore positively impacting the Australian environment. Carbon pricing is the right approach to effectively neutralizing carbon emissions and saving the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions are the future of aviation fuel. Stronger policy measures will need to be implemented and backed by government to actually uphold these measures. Carbon pricing and biofuel substitutes may lead to people paying more to fly, but this is a small price to pay for the betterment of our environment. The Australian government adopted the Clean Energy Future Plan because they recognized the necessity to change our emission practices. We simply cannot continue to move forward with the amount of air travel in the future with the same jet fuel and carbon emissions. Flying carbon neutral is a possibility and it must be implemented across the world. I would rather pay the extra money per ticket, then see our environment collapse around us. What will be interesting in the future is how this will fall politically in countries that rely heavily on air travel. Will voluntary carbon offset programs make it past the stakeholders and decision-makers? Politically these stakeholders need to make a stand and stay with their decision to rid air travel of all carbon emissions.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help