Air travel is a major contributor to global warming , and emissions from the industry are growing at an alarming rate. It’s become abundantly clear that something drastic needs to be done to make plans more sustainable. Airbus is trying to do something about that. The airline has plans to introduce planes that are free of carbon emissions in 2035, the year one study calls the “point of no return” to address global warming. The zero emission aircraft would be powered by hydrogen, which emits water rather than carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned. In recent years, some airlines have made efforts to become more sustainable through carbon offsets and increased fuel efficiency, but when it comes to relative size and impact, those efforts are a drop in the bucket, especially considering that demand for air travel is expected to grow. Airbus itself has 12,000 airliners in operation—and it expects global air passenger traffic to double by the 2030s. [Image: Airbus] The Airbus concepts do away with fossil fuels entirely, as the planes will be powered by hydrogen. They’re currently looking at three possible designs. Two of them (the “turbo prop” and “turbo jet”) have engines under the […]
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