The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for urgent action to deepen the understanding on the formation and climate impact of aviation contrails to develop effective mitigation measures. The newly released IATA report on Aviation Contrails and their Climate Effect: Tackling Uncertainties and Enabling Solutions, called for a strengthening of collaboration between research and technological innovation, coupled with policy frameworks to address aviation’s non-CO2 emissions through more atmospheric data. The report highlighted the complexity of contrail science, noting gaps in the understanding of how contrails form, or when they could persist, and how they impact the climate. To ensure that this effort is effective and without adverse effects, we must better understand how and where contrails form and shrink the uncertainties related to their climate impact. “Action now” means more trials, collection of more data, improvement of climate models, and maturing technologies and operations.

Source: Nigerian Tribune May 02, 2024 10:48 UTC