The David Suzuki Foundation, along with a bevy of other Canadian Environmental Non Governmental Organizations (ENGOs), most of which are tax-subsidized ‘charities’ are trying to force the government to set Sustainable Aviation Fuel goals to reduce aviation emissions. Their pitch makes it sound like aviation is the worst emitter around. This is nonsense. Robert Lyman provides a few more facts to punch holes in their arguments:
Global aviation now accounts for 2.1% of CO2 emissions.
Energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 1.8 billion tonnes from 2020 to 2021 (BP Statistical Review), or 5.6%. Only a small part of that was an increase in aviation emissions, as the international travel and business industries still have not recovered entirely from the pandemic and are now facing recession.
Aviation carries only 1% of world trade by volume, but it is 35% of world trade by value.
Jet aircraft today are 80% more fuel efficient than the jet aircraft of the 1960’s. Every additional increase comes at higher and higher cost.
The Suzuki et al goals cannot be met (even if they made sense, which they do not) without raising aviation costs to the point where they would severely impair both passenger and freight transport.
The lion’s share of the growth in international aviation activity is in Asia, so Suzuki should go “sell crazy” to China and India.
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Clearly, other activists on this campaign like Dr. Joe Vipond, President of CAPE – Canadian Physicians for the Environment, and Lyn Adamson of ClimateFast are similarly misinformed about aviation emissions. Comparing climate policy for Denmark with climate policies for Canada is nonsensical.
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