Air Freight – what’s the problem?
3 Stansted
4 Manchester
Air freight in the UK in 2010
EAST MIDLANDS 273,669 + 7
STANSTED 202,238 + 11
MANCHESTER 115,922 + 13
GATWICK 104,032 + 39
BELFAST INTERNAT 29,716 0
LUTON 28,743 0
MANSTON (KENT INT) 28,103 – 6
BIRMINGHAM 21,605 + 65
EDINBURGH 20,357 – 14
PRESTWICK 12,163 – 9
Air Freight carbon emissions compared to other transport modes
There is a DEFRA /DECC report entitled:
“2011 Guidelines to Defra / DECC’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting”
Total tonne kg CO2 per km uplift
km travelled x tonne km x factor = Total kg CO2-e
Some calculations showing emissions from air freight compared to other modes of transport:
For example,
2 tonnes carried by air on a domestic flight for 1,000 kilometres within the UK is:
2,000 x 2.079 x 1.09 = 4,532 kg CO2
or
2 tonnes carried by air on a long haul flight for 5000 kilometres is:
10,000 x 0.727 x 1.09 = 7,924 kg CO2
Freight by Diesel or electric train:
By comparison, the DECC figure given for freight carried by a diesel train would be a conversion factor of 0.021 kg CO2 per tonne kilometre.
Eg. 2 tonnes carried for 1,000 kilometres is:
2,000 x 0.005 = 10 kg CO2 (compared to 4,532 kg CO2 for the plane, as above)
Average cargo ship:
By comparison, the DECC figure for freight carried in an average cargo shipis 0.015 kg CO2 per tonne kilometre (or a small bulk carrier it is 0.011)
So, for example,
Eg. 2 tonnes carried for 1,000 kilometres around the UK is:
2,000 x 0.015 = 30 kg CO2 (compared to 4,532 kg CO2 for a UK flight)
or
2 tonnes carried for 5000 kilometres is:
10,000 x 0.015 = 150 kg CO2 (compared to 7,924 kg CO2 for the plane)
So in Summary:
2 tonnes of freight carried 1,000 km produces:
by air – 4,532 kg CO2-e
by diesel train – 10 kg CO2-e
by cargi ship – 30 kg CO2-e
and
2 tonnes of freight carried 5,000 km produces:
by air – 7,924 kg CO2-e
by container ship – 150 kg CO2-e