The Relationship Between Airline Transportation and Carbon Emissions: The Case of G20 Countries

Abstract

Employing the panel data analysis, this research discusses the impact of air transportation on carbon emissions (CO2) in G20 nations employing data from 1994 to 2021. The analysis revealed that there exists a positive but statistically insignificant relationship between air passenger transportation and freight transportation, and an adverse relationship between air passenger transportation and CO2. In the research model, it was claimed that more economic growth, the use of fossil fuels, and trade openness would all result in higher CO2 nevertheless, this rise in trade openness was deemed statistically insignificant. Furthermore, the causality results indicate that unidirectional causality was found between CO2 emissions and trade liberalization, economic growth, the use of fossil fuels, and air freight transport. In contrast, bidirectional causality was found between CO2 and air passenger transport. According to the findings, it might be suggested that policies like allowing sustainable aviation fuels to take a larger share of the air transportation market, creating technological advancements, initiating research and development, and supplying energy—the engine of economic growth—from clean and renewable sources such as wind and solar power are crucial steps for G20 nations to meet their zero emission targets and assure sustainability in the aviation industry.