ECONOMIC ESTIMATES OF THE CLIMATE COSTS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR DUE TO AIR MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR 2018 AND 2019

The policy brief calculates the environmental costs of aviation in the Single European Sky area, finding that capacity shortfalls in 2018 and 2019 led to approximately 31.86 million nautical miles of additional distance flown. This resulted in 1.06 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, with estimated climate costs ranging from 162 million to 903 million EUR depending on the carbon pricing model and the inclusion of non-CO2 effects. The authors highlight that CO2 represents only about 34% of the sector's effective radiative forcing, with the remainder coming from non-CO2 impacts like contrail cirrus and nitrogen oxides.

• Capacity constraints in the aviation sector during 2018 and 2019 led to an additional 31.86 million nautical miles (NM) being flown beyond optimal distances.
• The additional distance flown in 2018 and 2019 resulted in the burn of 337,156,934 kg of fuel, which corresponds to 1.06 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
• Based on CO2 emissions alone, the climate costs for 2018 and 2019 are estimated between 54 million EUR (using future market prices by 2030) and 301 million EUR (using long-run Standard Inputs Climate Change Avoidance Costs).
• When accounting for non-CO2 impacts, which constitute approximately 66% of the sector's effective radiative forcing (ERF), the total environmental costs for 2018 and 2019 are estimated to range between 162 million and 903 million EUR.
• Non-CO2 impacts, primarily nitrogen oxides (NOX) and contrail cirrus, are identified as the dominant contributors to the aviation sector's effective radiative forcing, accounting for around 66%.
• Additional fuel burn is caused by vertical flight efficiency issues, such as 'level caps' for flow control and a 5 to 10 per cent decrease in the use of Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) and Continuous Climb Operations (CCO) during high traffic density, though these cannot currently be quantified with available data.

APA

Galarraga, I., Pümpel, H., Abadie, L. M., de Gauna, I. R., & Goicoechea, N. (2021). ECONOMIC ESTIMATES OF THE CLIMATE COSTS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR DUE TO AIR MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR 2018 AND 2019. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20210427042456884900902.pdf

Chicago

Galarraga, Ibon, Herbert Pümpel, Luis María Abadie, Itziar Ruiz de Gauna, and Nestor Goicoechea. ECONOMIC ESTIMATES OF THE CLIMATE COSTS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR DUE TO AIR MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR 2018 AND 2019. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2021. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20210427042456884900902.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Galarraga |first1=Ibon |last2=Pümpel |first2=Herbert |last3=Abadie |first3=Luis María |last4=de Gauna |first4=Itziar Ruiz |last5=Goicoechea |first5=Nestor |title=ECONOMIC ESTIMATES OF THE CLIMATE COSTS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR DUE TO AIR MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR 2018 AND 2019 |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=April 2021 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20210427042456884900902.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{galarraga2021economic, author = {Galarraga, Ibon and Pümpel, Herbert and Abadie, Luis María and de Gauna, Itziar Ruiz and Goicoechea, Nestor}, title = {{ECONOMIC ESTIMATES OF THE CLIMATE COSTS OF THE AVIATION SECTOR DUE TO AIR MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR 2018 AND 2019}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20210427042456884900902.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }