Changes to flight paths could reduce aircraft effect on climate

Small alterations to routing, which would add about 1% to airlines' operating costs, could have significant results

Small tweaks to flight paths could reduce the effects that aircraft have on climate by as much as 10%, a new study shows. For a roughly 1% increase in operating costs, airlines could make significant climate change cuts by optimising their routes according to the weather, time of day and time of year.

Aircraft affect Earth's climate by emitting greenhouse gases, and creating contrails, which alter the way radiation is reflected back to space. An estimated 5% of manmade climate change is caused by global aviation, and this number is expected to rise. But Keith Shine, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, and his colleagues show this could be reduced if flights were routed to avoid the regions where their emissions have the greatest effect on climate.