Boeing Unveils Cascade Climate Impact Model to Analyze Aviation Carbon Emissions

Boeing has introduced the Boeing Cascade Climate Impact Model, a data modeling tool designed to evaluate the impact of sustainability solutions on aviation carbon emissions. This comprehensive tool analyzes the entire life cycle of alternate energy sources in aviation, quantifying their potential to reduce carbon emissions. Known as Cascade, the model enables users to simulate decarbonization strategies such as fleet renewal, operational efficiency enhancements, renewable energy utilization, and the impact of future aircraft and market-based measures.

Chris Raymond, Chief Sustainability Officer at Boeing, emphasized that Cascade aims to establish a shared framework among aviation, energy, finance, and policy sectors. By prioritizing data and making the model accessible to the public, Boeing aims to foster collaboration, feedback, and alignment across industries, governments, and other stakeholders working towards a more sustainable future for aerospace.

Key findings from Cascade assessments indicate that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is projected to be the most significant contributor to carbon emissions reduction, as it can be readily utilized in existing commercial aircraft models. On the other hand, emerging technologies such as electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft are expected to have limited contributions to emissions reduction until 2050 due to prolonged development and deployment timelines, as well as the extensive infrastructure changes required for airports and pipelines.

In conjunction with the modeling tool, Boeing has introduced the Cascade User Community working group, which will provide valuable feedback on new features, functions, and application programming interfaces, further enhancing the capabilities and effectiveness of Cascade.