Despite aviation industry hype about a new wave of supersonic planes, they’re still likely to be much more fuel inefficient than conventionally-polluting planes. New research from the ICCT shows exactly how bad it might be.

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates that a supersonic flight from New York to London might have between 3–6 times the climate impact for each seat (as measured in CO2 equivalent), compared to a similar subsonic flight.

That’s bad. But aviation industry insiders tout the possibility of lower-polluting alternative fuels. Would supersonics turn green if you switch out the fuel?

Per ICCT estimates, the minimum-qualifying alternative fuel is expected to lower emissions per passenger by only 5%.

And the best case? Even with substantially more efficient fuels, the emissions per seat for a New York–London supersonic flight might be merely twice as polluting as a conventional flight.

Despite the greenwash, supersonic planes are likely to be a climate disaster, no matter how they’re fueled.

Read the original article: Supersonic air travel-Moving away from our climate commitments, faster than ever by Nikita Pavlenko