It has become apparent that the continued emission of greenhouse gases will lead to the onset of irreversible climate change, thereby endangering human civilization on our planet. Although the aviation sector of the global economy contributes only a small percentage of the total emissions the transition to emission-free (green) aviation will be a crucial part of the transition to a green global economy by mid-century if a catastrophe is to be averted. It is unfortunate that the danger posed by climate change is not yet regarded as an emergency that requires an “all hands on deck” global effort. This lack of awareness is exacerbated by the widespread view that the task is too immense to be accomplished in this century. It is our view that the past aerospace engineering successes and failures provide us with the lessons needed to convince the aerospace engineering community that the transition to green aviation can indeed be accomplished if economic and special interest considerations are set aside.

显而易见，温室气体的持续排放将导致不可逆转的气候变化，从而危及地球上的人类文明。尽管航空业在全球经济中只占总排放量的一小部分，但如果要发生灾难，那么到本世纪中叶，向无排放（绿色）航空的过渡将成为向绿色全球经济过渡的关键部分。避免了。不幸的是，气候变化带来的危险尚未被视为需要全球“全力以赴”努力的紧急情况。人们普遍认为这项任务过于艰巨，本世纪无法完成，从而加剧了这种认识的缺乏。