What could mean to return to a supersonic flight for climate change

Last week, Boom Supersonic completed its first supersonic test flight of XB -1 Test aircraft. I saw Broadcast alive, and the vibe was contagious, looking at the hosts expecting during takeoff and acceleration, and then their celebrations once made it clear that the aircraft sounded the voice.

And nevertheless, knowing what I know about the climate, the promise of returning to a supersonic flight is a little stigma. We are in a place with climate change where we need to decrease the emissions sharply, and the supersonic flight will take us to the wrong direction. The whole thing is surprised to me how fast it is.

Is responsible for the aviation industry 4% of Global Warming to date. And now only 10% of the global population flies on aircraft in any year. As income increases and flight becomes more accessible to more people, we can expect air travel, and greenhouse gas emissions will increase with it.

If the business continues as usual, the emission from aviation can be doubled by 2050, according to 2019 report From the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Supersonic flights can contribute very well to this trend, because fasting requires a lot of ENERGY zones to fly quickly – and consequently, fuel. Based on the estimate, on a counter-passenger basis, the supersonic plane will use two to nine times the fuel today. (It comes from the most optimistic boom, and it compares the company’s own planes to the first class cabin.)

In addition to the increasing use of fuel, additional potential climate effects may be released on normal high IT plains in supersonic flights such as nitrogen OX buttime, sulfur and black carbon. For more details, check My latest story.

Boom points to durable aviation fuel (SAFS) as a solution to this problem. Finally, this alternative fuel can potentially cut all the greenhouse gases associated with jet fuel.

The problem is, the market for SAFS is practically fetal. They made less than 1% of the jet fuel supply in 2024, and they are still more expensive than fossil fuels. And currently available SFS cuts the emissions between 50% and 70%-which is a net-zero-long road.