Contrail Market Exchange to Incentivize Airlines to Reduce Global Warming

Votes: 2
Views: 863

PROBLEM: Global Heating by Contrails generated by jet airliners

98% of anthropogenic (human-made) global heating is the result of Green House Gases (GHGs) such as CO2 and methane. The remaining 2% is generated by the effect of Contrails. Surprising huh?

Contrails are the ice-crystal clouds generated by soot and water vapor emitted by jet engines at high, cold altitudes.

These ice crystal clouds reflect and trap the outgoing thermal radiation emitted by the Earth.
GHGs emitted today only result in global heating in 20-40 years, but the effect of Contrails on global heating is immediate.

Eliminating Contrails to reduce global heating is feasible. If only the 15% of the airliner flights that generate contrails, would fly 2000’ feet higher than planned, the contrails would not be formed.

The additional cost to the airlines of flying 2000’ feet higher is negligible as the additional fuel for the climb is compensated by the cruise flight at the higher altitude.

QUESTION: How can we incentivize the airlines to fly higher to help not warm the planet unnecessarily?

ANSWER: Let's pay them!

SOLUTION: A Contrail Market Exchange to incentivize to allow sell the certified equivalent-CO2 not created by avoiding generating contrails.

The Contrail Market Exchange website would allow airline sellers of Contrail CO2-equivalent offsets to offer the offset for sale.

The exchange would also allow buyers to purchase the offset.
Buyers could include other airlines, general businesses, or even citizens seeking to offset their CO2 footprint.

Note: critical functions of the Contrail Market Exchange are to: (1) accurately calculate the CO2-equivalent offset resulting from the airlines. (2) certify the transaction and the resulting offset.

It’s a win-win. Let's do it now!

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Lance Sherry
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Engineer/Designer
  • Lance is inspired by:
    Sounds trite, but ... use science and engineering to improve quality of life of others.
  • Software used for this entry:
    Python, R, SQL, Java
  • Patent status:
    pending