GLOBAL WARMING

The Governments Attitude to Global Warming and Air Travel

Abstract

Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects. An increase in supersonic aircraft flying could further damage the ozone layer as aircraft emissions of NOx deplete ozone concentrations at high altitudes, where these aircraft would typically fly. Aircraft vapor trails or contrails, often visible from the ground, can lead to the formation of cirrus clouds. Both contrails and cirrus clouds warm the earth's surface magnifying the global warming effect of aviation.

Table of Content

Abstractii

CHAPTER 01:INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Research1

Aims and Objective1

Research Questions2

Rationale of Study3

Limitations & Delimitations of the study4

Ethical Concerns4

Reliability5

Validity6

Theoretical Review6

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW11

New Technology11

Reducing Impacts11

Global Warming and the Science-Policy Interface13

Global Warming and Global Governance14

Environmental Impact15

Increased Air Travel15

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY17

Research Design17

Literature Search17

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION18

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION24

References26

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Abbreviation

GHG= Greenhouse Gas

CO2=Carbon dioxide

UNFCCC=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

NOx =oxides of nitrogen

H2O=water vapour

ICAO=International Civil Aviation Organization

ETS=Emission Trading System

ICAO=International Civil Aviation Organization

IPCC=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Background of the Research

Global warming and climate variability occur as natural occurrence. The issue of governance relates to human-induced global warming as it is defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as climate change either directly or indirectly attributable to humans changing the global atmosphere's composition separate from expected climate changeability in a comparable period.

The term typically evokes the effects on the climate of human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) and large-scale deforestation, which cause emissions to the atmosphere of large amounts of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride). Such gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by the earth's surface and act as blankets over the surface, keeping it warmer than it would normally be (Baumert, 2002). Global warming is often considered as the most important environmental problem the world faces and one of the major challenges for global governance and management.

Aims and Objective

The objective of this proposal would be analyzing the Governments Attitude to Global Warming and Air Travel.

To analyze governments view on global warming in correlation to air travel

To analyze procedures put in place to reduce global warming in air travel

To make relevant recommendations for future actions

Research Questions

Research is based on the following questions;

What are the impacts of the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU ETS on the operating costs of, and the travel demand for, the full-service network airlines and low-cost carriers?

With the EU's unilateral legislation, would the EU's network carriers encounter competitive disadvantages vis-a-vis airlines from the non-EU countries on long-haul flights?

What will be the effects of unilateral GHG control measures on the emissions of both ...