Here's my response to this article:
Point 1: if something is in 'development' it's not a 'solution' and it's also not 100% guaranteed to work. It's dangerous to put all our eggs in the techno fix basket.
Point 2: if it successful and implemented by 2035, that doesn't mean we should keep burning fossil fuels until then... all the carbon emitted from flying (and all over activities) from now until 2035 will continue to contribute to rising temperatures and by that point we'll be in such a bad situation, we're not gonna be that bothered about hydrogen planes flying us on holiday then cos we'll be freaking out about the irreversible damage we'll have caused by continuing to emit carbon at current and / or growing rates. We have to reduce emissions now in 2021 to prevent worst case scenarios.
Point 3: there are delays not accounted for. Think how long HS2 is taking to be completed. Even when building something as 'small' as a house, there is always a timeline but there is usually a delay in the work. At 14 years away, 2035 is already far too late and if that mark is missed i.e. hydrogen aircraft is not ready, and it takes more years to make them commercially viable... well then what?
This is not to poo poo on the efforts for radical decarbonisation and sustainable development in industry, because that is good, but this is to express that stuff like this by itself is not good news... it's a faraway 'ideal' presented as progress, but it's not here, its not now.
Relying on tech rather than any sort of behaviour change is not enough to cut emissions, we need both. As an extra note, this does nothing to help with the massive growing wealth inequalities across the world either, but that's another argument.
We have to all reduce emissions where we can, now not later.
In order to lose weight, eating less pastries and cheese will help a person lose weight now; we don't wait for an invention of 'zero weight' pastries that are in development to be rolled out in 15 years time, and continue to eat weighty foods now, in blind hope do we?
Same logic.
I'd love aviation to be truly sustainable one day. I'd love to hop on a plane knowing that it isn't harmful for the environment and to people.
Flying has been taken for granted, and I took it for granted for years... just as I used to think recycling was good. I was horrified when I found out that our recycling is shipped off and burned in other countries. I still have to recycle things but there is so much I simply do not buy any more or as often because I learned our government weren't managing our waste properly or ethically or efficiently.
When reality hits with any of this stuff, I ask myself who I want to be, and what part I want to play once I know the impact of my actions... flying is one of the most carbon intensive things we can do in as individuals living in the West and I keep learning as much as I can about the people and places that are affected. It's not light viewing, but it's important to acknowledge responsibility because as a UK citizen I have loads of privileges and opportunities and options.
Not in a guit trippy way, but in a genuine ask yourself really do you care or do you want people to think you care and do nothing to align actions with values...?
If you don't care, okay bye bye, but if you do really care, are you doing everything you can?