Commit 7334c89ac8a230c538bff2379dfbf559ac4ea062

Authored by Didier BARRET
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content.yml
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321 321  
322 322 - title: What does the tool do?
323 323 content: |
324   - The tool computes the carbon footprint associated with round trip flights.
325   - It does so for a set of trips from a given city of origin to a set of destinations.
326   - Similarly, the tool allows to compute the carbon footprint of a larger set of trips,
327   - corresponding to a conference, a meeting and so on.
328   -
329   - For this, the city of departure for each participant to the conference has to be provided.
330   - If multiple host cities are provided,
331   - the tool ranks the cities according to the associated carbon footprint.
332   - While online calculators enable to compute the footprint of a limited number of trips,
333   - this tool enables to compute the footprint of a larger number of trips in an automated way.
334   -
335   - Furthermore, it provides an estimate based on data from six different methods,
336   - whose estimates can differ significantly. If more than one method is selected by the user,
337   - the tool returns the mean of the estimates of all selected method.
  324 + The tool computes the carbon footprint associated with round
  325 + trip flights. It does so for a set of trips from a given city of origin
  326 + to a set of destinations. Similarly, the tool allows to compute
  327 + the carbon footprint of a larger set of trips, corresponding to a
  328 + conference, a meeting and so on. For this, the city of departure
  329 + for each participant to the conference has first to be provided.
  330 + If multiple destination cities are provided, the tool ranks those
  331 + cities according to the associated carbon footprint.
  332 +
  333 + While online calculators enable to compute the footprint of a
  334 + limited number of trips, this tool enables to compute the
  335 + footprint of a larger number of trips in an automated way.
  336 +
  337 + Furthermore, it provides an estimate based on data from six
  338 + different methods, whose estimates can differ significantly. If
  339 + more than one method is selected by the user, the tool returns
  340 + the mean of the estimates of all selected method.
338 341  
339 342 - title: How does the tool work?
340 343 content: |
341   - A round trip is defined by a city pair.
342   - The two cities are geolocated and from their longitude and latitude,
343   - the great circle distance is computed.
344   - This is the shortest path a plane can follow.
345   - Some methods thus consider uplift correction factors
346   - in computing the carbon dioxide emission of a flight.
347   - In addition, two cities may not be connected by a direct flight.
348   - This is accounted for by increasing by 5% the great circle distance.
349   - Each method provides the carbon dioxide emission in kg
350   - as a function of the flight distance in km.
351   - Thus from the increased great circle distance,
352   - the carbon dioxide emission of a flight associated with a trip
353   - between a city pair is computed and multiplied by two
354   - to account for a round trip.
  344 + A round trip is defined by a city pair. The two cities are
  345 + geolocated and from their longitude and latitude, the great
  346 + circle distance is computed. This is the shortest path a plane
  347 + can follow. Some methods thus consider uplift correction
  348 + factors in computing the carbon dioxide emission of a flight. In
  349 + addition, two cities may not be connected by a direct flight.
  350 + This is accounted for by increasing by 5% the great circle
  351 + distance. Each method provides the carbon dioxide emission
  352 + in kg as a function of the flight distance in km. Thus from the
  353 + increased great circle distance, the carbon dioxide emission of
  354 + a flight associated with a trip between a city pair is computed
  355 + and multiplied by two to account for a round trip.
  356 +
355 357  
356 358 - title: Which methods are used?
357 359 content: |
358   - The tool incorporates six different methods,
359   - among the most widely used, and for which the methodology used is documented.
360   - Providing more than one method enables to get a mean value,
361   - while illustrating the significant differences in their estimates.
362   - In alphabetic order, the data considered are from
363   - ADEME:
364   - the French Environment & Energy Management Agency,
365   - atmosfair:
366   - a German carbon offsetting company,
367   - DEFRA:
368   - the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs,
369   - ICAO:
370   - International Civil Aviation Organization
371   - and finally from the KLM carbon compensation service.
372   -
373   - This list is obviously not exhaustive
374   - but represents a variety of estimates from lower to higher values.
  360 + The tool incorporates six different methods, among the most
  361 + widely used, and for which the methodology used is
  362 + documented. Providing more than one method enables to get
  363 + a mean value, while illustrating the significant differences in
  364 + their estimates. In alphabetic order, the data considered are
  365 + from ADEME: the French Environment & Energy Management
  366 + Agency, atmosfair: a German carbon offsetting company,
  367 + DEFRA: the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural
  368 + Affairs, ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization, from the
  369 + KLM carbon compensation service data and finally from
  370 + myclimate.
  371 +
  372 + This list is obviously not exhaustive but represents
  373 + a variety of estimates from lower to higher values.
  374 +
375 375  
376 376 - title: How are the different methods built?
377 377 content: |
378   - What is needed for each method is a function
379   - giving the carbon dioxide emission
380   - as a function of the flight distance.
381   - ADEME and DEFRA provide mean emission factors,
382   - as a function of flight distance.
383   - Myclimate provides an analytical formula.
384   - For ICAO and atmosfair, the on-line calculators have been run
385   - for a wide range of flights of varying distances
386   - (~100 flights spanning from 300 km to 12000 km)
387   - and the estimates have been fitted with linear functions,
388   - covering adjacent distance intervals.
389   - For its carbon compensation service,
390   - KLM provides on its web site a table of emissions
391   - for a large range of flights.
392   - The KLM data have also been fitted with linear functions.
393   -
  378 + What is needed for each method is a function giving the
  379 + carbon dioxide emission as a function of the flight distance.
  380 + ADEME and DEFRA provide mean emission factors, as a
  381 + function of flight distance. Myclimate provides an analytical
  382 + formula. For ICAO and atmosfair, the on-line calculators have
  383 + been run for a wide range of flights of varying distances (~100
  384 + flights spanning from 300 km to 12000 km) and the estimates
  385 + have been fitted with linear functions, covering adjacent
  386 + distance intervals. For its carbon compensation service, KLM
  387 + provides on its web site a table of emissions for a large range
  388 + of flights. The KLM data have been also been fitted with linear
  389 + functions.
  390 +
394 391 - title: What about radiative forcing?
395 392 slug: rfi
396 393 content: |
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421 418  
422 419 - title: Original motivation
423 420 content: |
424   - Global warming is a threat for life on our planet. Emissions of carbon dioxide by aircrafts keeps increasing, as the world economy keeps growing (it is about 3% of the anthropogenic emissions nowadays). Carrying scientific research requires traveling across the world, and thus air travel is likely to dominate the carbon footprint of most scientists. This tool was first developed to enable each scientist to easily access its travel footprint. It was then used to compute the travel footprint associated with the development of a large international project, such as the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit. The numbers were then used to propose concrete actions to reduce the footprint of the project, by reducing the number of large meeting, implementing different ways of interacting and working collectively in a world-wide consortium. Finally, by comparing different, widely used methods, providing so different estimates, the tool is expected to raise awareness within the scientific community (and hopefully the authorities) about the lack of regulations or framework on the critical matter of flight emissions.
  421 + Global warming is a threat for life on our planet. Emissions of
  422 + carbon dioxide by aircrafts keeps increasing, as the world
  423 + economy keeps growing (it is about 3% of the anthropogenic
  424 + emissions nowadays). Carrying scientific research requires
  425 + traveling across the world, and thus air travel is likely to
  426 + dominate the carbon footprint of most scientists. This tool was
  427 + first developed to enable each scientist to easily access its
  428 + travel footprint. It was then used to compute the travel footprint
  429 + associated with the development of a large international
  430 + project, such as the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit. The
  431 + numbers were then used to propose concrete actions to
  432 + reduce the footprint of the project, by reducing the number of
  433 + large meeting, implementing different ways of interacting and
  434 + working collectively in a world-wide consortium. Finally, by
  435 + comparing different, widely used methods, providing so
  436 + different estimates, the tool is expected to raise awareness
  437 + within the scientific community (and hopefully the authorities)
  438 + about the lack of regulations or framework on the critical
  439 + matter of flight emissions.
425 440  
426 441 - blocks:
427 442  
428 443 - title: Seating category
429 444 content: |
430   - The tool assumes economy seats in computing the carbon dioxide emission. For indication, DEFRA provides mean emission factors for different seat classes considering international flights. Related to the area occupied by the seat in the plane, for Premium economy, the emission would be 1.6 times larger than flying an economy seat. It would be 2.9 and 4 times higher from flying Business class and First class respectively.
  445 + The tool assumes economy seats in computing the carbon
  446 + dioxide emission. For indication, DEFRA provides mean
  447 + emission factors for different seat classes considering
  448 + international flights. Related to the area occupied by the seat in
  449 + the plane, for Premium economy, the emission would be 1.6
  450 + times larger than flying an economy seat. It would be 2.9 and 4
  451 + times higher from flying Business class and First class
  452 + respectively.
431 453  
432 454 - title: Accounting for train emission
433 455 content: |
434   - The minimum distance for flying is considered arbitrarily to be 300 km. Below that, it is assumed that train is used. The tool then computes the travel footprint associated with train. The French emission factors provided by ADEME are 3.37 and 5.11 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per km per passenger for high speed train and normal train respectively. This low value is due to the fact that electricity is provided by nuclear plants. It is larger by some factor across Europe. The tool assumes the mean of the emission factors of national and international rails, as provided by DEFRA (i.e. 23 grams per passenger km). This makes the carbon dioxide emission of trains, typically one tenth (1/10) of the one of aircrafts.
  456 + The minimum distance for flying is considered arbitrarily to be
  457 + 300 km. Below that, it is assumed that train is used. The tool
  458 + then computes the travel footprint associated with train. The
  459 + French emission factors provided by ADEME are 3.37 and 5.11
  460 + grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per km per passenger for
  461 + high speed train and normal train respectively. This low value is
  462 + due to the fact that electricity is provided by nuclear plants. It
  463 + is larger by some factors across Europe. The tool thus assumes the
  464 + mean of the emission factors of national and international rails,
  465 + as provided by DEFRA (i.e. 23 grams per passenger km). This
  466 + makes the carbon dioxide emission of trains, typically one
  467 + tenth (1/10) of the one of aircrafts.
435 468  
436 469 - title: Input and output data
437 470 content: |
438   - The inputs are provided in US English for the city and country names, without diacritics. On each line, the city and country names must be separated by a comma. Pasting a csv file in the form is possible. Two types of inputs can be considered depending on whether the user wants an โ€œindividualโ€ estimate or an estimate for a conference, meeting and so on. In the former case, the โ€œoriginโ€ city is unique and the โ€œdestinationโ€ cities multiple. In the later case, the โ€œoriginโ€ cities are multiple (i.e. the cities from which the participants to the conference depart from), and the โ€œdestinationโ€ city may a single host city or multiple host cities if the user wants to compare their associated footprint. Cities found identical in the input form are always grouped, and their number in the group is given by the number of trips in the output, and the distance given is the cumulative distance over the group. The result pages provides a summary plot which can be downloaded, as well as a csv and raw yaml file. The csv file lists the name of the city as in the form, the address to which it was geolocated, the carbon dioxide emission (in kg), the distance travelled, the number of trips possible by train (i.e. when the distance is less than the minimum flying distance, e.g. 300 km) and the number of trips by plane. The plot and the csv file rank the city against the carbon dioxide emissions.
  471 + The inputs are provided in US English for the city and country
  472 + names, without diacritics. On each line, the city and country
  473 + names must be separated by a comma. Pasting a csv file in the
  474 + form is possible. Two types of inputs can be considered
  475 + depending on whether the user wants an โ€œindividualโ€ estimate
  476 + or an estimate for a conference, meeting and so on. In the
  477 + former case, the โ€œoriginโ€ city is unique and the โ€œdestinationโ€
  478 + cities multiple. In the later case, the โ€œoriginโ€ cities are multiple
  479 + (i.e. the cities from which the participants to the conference
  480 + depart from), and the โ€œdestinationโ€ city may a single host city
  481 + or multiple host cities if the user wants to compare their
  482 + associated footprint. Cities found identical in the input form are
  483 + always grouped, and their number in the group is given by the
  484 + number of trips in the output, and the distance given is the
  485 + cumulative distance over the group.
  486 +
  487 + The result pages provides a summary plot which can be
  488 + downloaded, as well as a csv and raw yaml file. The csv file
  489 + lists the name of the city as in the form, the address to which it
  490 + was geolocated, the carbon dioxide emission (in kg), the
  491 + distance travelled, the number of trips possible by train (i.e.
  492 + when the distance is less than the minimum flying distance,
  493 + e.g. 300 km) and the number of trips by plane. The plot and the
  494 + csv file rank the cities against the carbon dioxide emissions.
  495 +
439 496  
440 497 - title: Trouble shooting
441 498 content: |
442   - The estimation can go wrong if a city is not properly geolocated. This may happen because the name of the city is wrongly spelled or the geolocator (OSM) is confused. An error should be listed at the end of the result page. Donโ€™t be surprised, if the name recovered by the geolocator is not exactly the one you had expected (e.g. a city is located at the address of an embassy). If nothing happens during a request, it is most likely caused by the geolocator being unavailable. In this case, try again a few minutes later.
  499 + The estimation can go wrong if a city is not properly
  500 + geolocated. This may happen because the name of the city is
  501 + wrongly spelled or the geolocator (OSM) is confused. An error
  502 + should be listed at the end of the result page. Donโ€™t be
  503 + surprised, if the name recovered by the geolocator is not
  504 + exactly the one you had expected (e.g. a city is located at the
  505 + address of an embassy). If nothing happens during a request, it
  506 + is most likely caused by the geolocator being unavailable. In
  507 + this case, try again a few minutes later.
443 508  
444 509 - title: Caveats
445 510 content: |
446   - The numbers provided by the tool do not come with uncertainties. Therefore they must be considered as indicative of the true values. Selecting more than one method is recommended, because they may make the numbers closer to their true values. In all cases however, the numbers can be used for relative comparisons, e.g. when comparing two cities for hosting a conference.
  511 + The numbers provided by the tool do not come with
  512 + uncertainties. Therefore they must be considered as indicative
  513 + of the true values. Selecting more than one method is
  514 + recommended, because they may make the numbers closer to
  515 + their true values. In all cases however, the numbers can be
  516 + used for relative comparisons, e.g. when comparing two cities
  517 + for hosting a conference.
447 518  
448 519 - title: Confidentiality
449 520 content: |
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451 522  
452 523 - title: Disclaimer
453 524 content: |
454   - This tool is provided on a best effort basis as a service to members of the science community. The numbers provided are informative and have obviously no legal value.
455   -
  525 + This tool is provided on a best effort basis as a service to
  526 + members of the science community. The numbers provided
  527 + are informative and have obviously no legal value.
  528 +
456 529 - title: Reference
457 530 content: |
458 531 Results from the tool may reference to Barret (2019, in preparation).
459 532  
460 533 - title: Concluding note
461 534 content: |
462   - As a personal note, I would like to stress that, as a scientist, I find it worrying or even shocking that there are no standards for computing the flight emissions, while we know that flight travels, releasing carbon dioxide at high altitudes, contribute to global warming. To take an example, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations specialized agency, established by States in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. ICAO has global responsibility for the establishment of standards, recommended practices, and guidance on various aspects of international civil aviation, including environmental protection. How can ICAO ignore radiative forcing in the results provided by its widely used on-line calculator? (which by the way is the calculator used by the travel agency of my institute, being a public institution). The IPCC in its 1999 report have defined the radiative forcing index to be between 2 and 4. Why ICAO is using 1? This is just an example, which clearly show the urgent need to agree on a common methodology accepted by all parties in computing flight emission. I wish this tool be modestly used to raise awareness on this issue.
  535 + As a personal note, I would like to stress that, as a scientist, I
  536 + find it worrying or even shocking that there are no standards
  537 + for computing the flight emissions, while we know that flight
  538 + travels, releasing carbon dioxide at high altitudes, contribute to
  539 + global warming. To take an example, the International Civil
  540 + Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations specialized
  541 + agency, established by States in 1944 to manage the
  542 + administration and governance of the Convention on
  543 + International Civil Aviation. ICAO has global responsibility for
  544 + the establishment of standards, recommended practices, and
  545 + guidance on various aspects of international civil aviation,
  546 + including environmental protection. How can ICAO ignore
  547 + radiative forcing in the results provided by its widely used on-
  548 + line calculator? (which by the way is the calculator used by the
  549 + travel agency of my institute, being a public institution). The
  550 + IPCC in its 1999 report have defined the radiative forcing index
  551 + to be between 2 and 4. Why ICAO is using 1? This is just an
  552 + example, which clearly show the urgent need to agree on a
  553 + common methodology accepted by all parties in computing
  554 + flight emission. May be this tool will help to raise
  555 + awareness on this issue.
463 556  
464 557 - title: Additional resources
465 558 content: |
... ...