CO2 emissions from jet transport aircraft

Carbon dioxide, CO2, is the predominant exhaust emission from combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. When burning kerosine (jet fuel) near optimum mixture levels, for every metric ton of fuel consumed by burning, 3.15 metric tons of CO2 is emitted, along with water vapor, and trace other byproducts. 

One way to calculate CO2 emissions is from fuel consumption per flight, as it's a direct measure from BEFORE to AFTER, so there is no grey zone in that calculus.

A jet typically used for short to medium flights is the Airbus A320. For a distance of, say, 2,000 nm (~3,700 km), the amount of fuel burned is an estimated 11.0 tonnes, an amount that includes taxiing, take-off, cruising, approaching and landing. 

Depending on the cabin layout (anywhere from 164 to 189, depending on layout choices) and an average seat occupancy ('load factor') of 85%, this gives an average fuel use of

• 58-67 kg per passenger on this flight, or
• 15.7-18.2 grams per passenger per kilometer

CO2 emissions from aviation fuel are established as 3.17 weight units per weight unit of fuel, which means that CO2 emissions in this flight amount to 34.9 metric tons, or an average CO2 production of 

• 184-212 kg per passenger on this flight, or
• 49.8-57.7 grams per passenger per kilometer

With the change in TSFC that our current engine tests are achieving, the total CO2 emissions would drop by 30% to 23.4 metric tons.

Looking at this from a global perspective, once our STC program has reached the point that ALL current-tech jet engines have been modified, global CO2 emissions attributed to aviation will have dropped by 30%.

And since global CO2 emissions attributed to aviation currently stand at ~3% of global total CO2 emissions (a number in the total emissions pie which will increase going forward while other industries are getting greener, faster), we will have reduced global CO2 emissions by 1%, and counting.

Best thing about all of this: we don't need billions to do this!