We can drastically cut aviation's climate impact.

The Problem

Contrails cause 1-2% of global warming.

We can eliminate most of that at near-zero cost.

Aircraft cause warming in two ways: greenhouse gas emissions and contrails. That's because contrails (aircraft condensation trails) often grow into cirrus clouds that trap heat in the lower atmosphere and significantly add to global warming. Recent estimates show that contrail-cirrus warming is roughtly equivalent to the warming caused by the greenhouse gas emissions of those same aircraft.

The Solution

Re-routing 5% of flights avoids up to 80% of contrail warming

Using weather forecasts, satellite imagery and other data, we can model, detect, and avoid contrails just like turbulence, icing, or storms. We are advancing the latest science and building contrail mitigation systems that can be used by the aviation industry to significantly reduce their climate impact, immediately.

The Overview

Number of planes slightly redirected to avoid producing the most harmful contrails

80%

Portion of contrail climate warming avoided by re-routing 5% of planes

< 0.5$

Average cost of avoiding warming equivalent to one tonne of CO2

Days

Amount of time it takes to get the full cooling effect for avoiding contrails

Number of planes slightly redirected to avoid producing the most harmful contrails

80%

Portion of contrail climate warming avoided by re-routing 5% of planes

< 0.5$

Average cost of avoiding warming equivalent to one tonne of CO2

Days

Amount of time it takes to get the full cooling effect for avoiding contrails

The Solution

Explore the contrails map

Our contrail map shows you how contrail-induced cirrus clouds are warming the planet. Learn whether your recent flight created harmful contrails, see how small changes to flight paths can prevent contrails, and more.

Learn More

Our Story

Who We Are

Learn more about our mission, team, and collaborators.

Contrails.org is a working group at Breakthrough Energy focused on contrails. We are a small team of engineers and scientists building on the work of our many collaborators to enable, verify, and ultimately accredit contrail-mitigating flight operations. The core of our work is open-source software tools that can accurately forecast and verify contrail impact and inform more sustainable flight plans.

Contrails in the press