ISAE-SUPAERO Aviation and Climate: a literature review

Abstract

Will technological innovations be sufficient to make aviation sustainable? Will we have enough energy resources to enable the transition for the entire fleet? What would be a sustainable level of air traffic in the future? These questions are carried through the public debates and their answers underpin the positioning of the various stakeholders on this subject: Alexandre de Juniac claims for decarbonisation of planes while Stay Groundeda retorts that planes should stay on the ground. While these questions have motivated the writing of this report, its objective is not to take sides or to answer them, as the answers largely depend on societal choices and technological and on economic developments that cannot be predicted with certainty. However, the aim of this report is to provide each individual, from our scientific standpoint, with the elements to build informed opinions on those issues, as objectively as possible. Through this report, we also hope to stimulate debates within ISAE-SUPAERO and thus contribute to the emergence of a collective position on these crucial issues.