Comparative Review of ICAO and EUROCONTROL Flight Carbon Emission Approximators

Zvonimir Rezo (), Sanja Steiner and Ružica Škurla Babić
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Zvonimir Rezo: Institute of Transport and Communications, Kušlanova 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Sanja Steiner: Institute of Transport and Communications, Kušlanova 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ružica Škurla Babić: Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, University of Zagreb, Vukelićeva 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: While airlines can directly quantify carbon emissions based on flight-specific fuel burn data, such data, along with data on other gaseous emissions that do not scale linearly with fuel consumption, are often unavailable to external stakeholders, necessitating the reliance on estimation models. Emissions are thus approximated from known quantities, with most usually from the fuel burned and distance travelled. Emission approximators developed for the aviation industry thus involve some degree of approximation and assumptions, as well as different exogenous and endogenous factors. As a result, such solutions differ primarily due to the significant methodological variations they incorporate. This paper assesses carbon emission approximators developed to valorize emissions generated by flight operations. It reveals the significance and sources of the misestimation of emissions by focusing on the ICAO Carbon Emission Calculator (ICEC), ICAO CORSIA CO 2 Estimation and Reporting Tool (CERT) and EUROCONTROL’ Advanced Emission Model (AEM) and Small Emitters Tool (SET). Thereby, the main research findings indicate considerable estimation uncertainty among the reviewed solutions, ranging from 1.77% to 27.95% on average compared to the baseline, which translates to statistical confidence levels ranging from 15% to 77.50% on average with respect to a 95% confidence threshold.

Keywords: air transport; environment; carbon emissions; carbon emission calculators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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