Carbon Emission Management in Aviation Systems

The aviation sector is a significant and growing contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for around 2–3 per cent of total CO₂ output. Managing these emissions involves a suite of technological, operational and policy measures. On the technological front, advances in airframe design, lightweight materials and more efficient engines can yield fuel savings of up to 20 per cent over current fleets. Sustainable aviation fuels, including biofuels, electrofuels and synthetic kerosene derived from direct air capture, offer pathways to near-zero lifecycle emissions. Operational measures such as optimised routing, continuous descent approaches and contrail mitigation further reduce CO₂ and non-CO₂ climate impacts. Policy instruments range from market-based measures—carbon pricing, emissions trading systems and offsetting schemes—to demand-side strategies that encourage mode shift and support innovation. Achieving net-zero aviation by mid-century will require integration of these approaches on a global scale, underpinned by coordinated regulation, infrastructure investment and cross-sector collaboration.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have explored the role of direct air capture (DAC) in enabling climate-neutral aviation. A comprehensive techno-economic assessment assessed pathways for producing synthetic jet fuel via captured CO₂ combined with green hydrogen. It concluded that under low renewable electricity costs and high fossil fuel prices, synthetic fuels could outperform emit-and-remove strategies by also mitigating contrail formation. The analysis highlighted the importance of strategic plant siting and policy support in scaling synthetic fuel deployment by 2050. In parallel, research on advanced catalyst systems has improved the energy efficiency of CO₂ conversion processes, reducing the cost differential with conventional jet fuel and strengthening the case for integrated carbon removal and fuel production facilities.

Carbon Emission Management in Aviation Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in carbon emission management in aviation systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Direct air capture (DAC): A technology that removes CO₂ directly from ambient air for storage or conversion into fuels.

Synthetic fuel: A liquid hydrocarbon fuel produced by combining captured CO₂ with hydrogen from renewable electricity.

Contrail: Condensation trails formed by aircraft exhaust, which can trap heat and increase climate forcing.

Predictive analytics: The use of statistical algorithms and machine learning to forecast future events based on historical and real-time data.

Mode shift: The transition of passenger or freight movements from higher-emission transport modes (such as air travel) to lower-emission alternatives (such as rail).

Frequent flyer levy: A policy instrument that imposes incremental charges on passengers based on the number of flights taken over a period, aiming to reduce excessive air travel.

References

1. The global scale, distribution and growth of aviation: Implications for climate change. Global Environmental Change (2020).
2. The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation. Nature Communications (2025).
3. Sustainability with Limited Data: A Novel Predictive Analytics Approach for Forecasting CO2 Emissions. Information Systems Frontiers (2024).
4. Carbon footprint effects of shifting from flights to night trains for Swedish tourism. Journal of Cleaner Production (2023).
5. How socially just are taxes on air travel and ‘frequent flyer levies’?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism (2022).