The Constrained Air Transport Energy Paradigm in 2021

Abel Jiménez-Crisóstomo, Luis Rubio-Andrada, María Soledad Celemín-Pedroche and María Escat-Cortés
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Abel Jiménez-Crisóstomo: Department of Economic Structure and Development Economics, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Luis Rubio-Andrada: Department of Applied Economics, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
María Soledad Celemín-Pedroche: Department of Business Organization, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
María Escat-Cortés: Department of Business Organization, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: The increasing relevance of air transport as a contributor to climate change requires the development of emissions reduction technologies in a socio-economic and cultural context, where demand and air traffic have traditionally held sustained growth rates. However, the irruption of COVID-19 in 2020 has had an enormous negative impact on air travel demand and traffic volumes. Coincidentally, during 2020, new technology proposals for emissions reduction based on use of hydrogen and synthetic fuels have emerged from the aviation stake holders. By following a novel approach connecting the analysis of expectations of technology developments and their deployment into the fleet to market constraints, this study discusses how, even considering the new technology proposals and even if the COVID-19 has led to a completely different scenario in tourism and aviation, the air transport energy paradigm will remain unchanged in the upcoming decades as a consequence of market constraints, aircraft complexity, compliance with safety requirements, and extended life cycles. In this frame, aviation needs to keep on pursuing the abatement of its emissions while managing social expectations in a realistic manner and leaning on compensation schemes to achieve emissions contention while new technologies become serviceable in the longer term.

Keywords: sustainability; energy; air transport; climate change; emissions trade systems; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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