Radiative forcing index

The Radiative Forcing Index ( RFI factor ) describes the increased greenhouse effect of aircraft emissions (especially CO ₂ , H ₂ O (gaseous) and nitrogen oxides ) at high altitudes.

description

Looking at all emissions from air traffic together, the RFI shows that air traffic has on average a warming effect that is around 2.7 times as large as that resulting from pure CO ₂ emissions. The German Federal Environment Agency even assumes an RFI of 3-5 if the effect of the formation of cirrus clouds is taken into account. There are doubts about the scientifically exact validity of the RFI. However, there is no doubt that an overall assessment of the emissions should be used to estimate the warming effect of emissions from air traffic.

calculation

${\displaystyle {\text{RFI}}={\frac {RF_{\text{gesamt Emissionen}}}{RF_{\text{CO2-Anteil}}}}}$

with RF = radiative forcing

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IPCC report (PDF; 398 kB)
2. ↑ Report Germanwatch (PDF; 362 kB)
3. ↑ Effects of global air traffic on climate development - an assessment , Robert Sausen, DLR Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Oberpfaffenhofen, PDF
4. ↑ Climate impact of air traffic , Federal Environment Agency 2012, PDF