The impact of emissions from aviation on the climate

Greenhouse gas emissions from global aviation are steadily and sharply increasing and their part in global CO₂ emissions is growing. This trend is particularly high in industrialised countries. In addition to CO₂, however, aviation also emits other components that have an impact on the climate. These are in particular water vapour, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and soot. This publication describes how the main emission components of aviation affect the climate. It also discusses how these components are quantified and which comparative values should be used.