Emissions intensity is one of the aviation sector’s most powerful decarbonization metrics — a single scale where fuels, aircraft, and operations of all types can be directly compared.
The impact:
The steady introduction of sustainable aviation fuel and some early-stage renewable energy could cut emissions intensity by ~60% between 2019 and 2050.
The takeaway:
As one of the best indicators for comparing different fuel types, emissions intensity should be one of the core metrics of any effective decarbonization strategy.
Emissions intensity is an increasingly popular decarbonization metric.
Because while fuel efficiency covers the amount of fuel we consume, emissions intensity is concerned with the emissions released when fuel is used.
This makes emissions intensity an ideal metric for comparing flights using different energy sources like conventional jet fuel, SAF, electricity, and hydrogen.
And because it’s a measure of overall efficiency, it also accounts for improvements in aircraft and flight operations.
How is it measured?
Typically, we measure emissions intensity as the grams of CO₂-equivaled emitted per revenue passenger kilometer (gCO₂-eq/RPK).
When we want to include freight emissions as well, we can use per revenue tonne kilometer instead (gCO₂‑eq/RTK).
In Cascade, you can choose between either one.
