#3 Establishing a Baseline for Contrails (feat. Marc Shapiro, Breakthrough Energy)

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In today's Episode 3, we're thrilled to introduce Marc Shapiro, the Director of the Contrails team at Breakthrough Energy in the US. Marc and his team are at the forefront of developing innovative research tools aimed at reducing the aviation sector's impact on climate. Collaborating with renowned research groups like MIT and DLR, alongside tech giants such as Google, and operational bodies including Eurocontrol and the National Air Traffic Service, they're making significant strides in this challenging field. Contrails, those aircraft-induced clouds familiar to us all, account for 1-2% of the total global climate impact. Under Marc's leadership, the team at Breakthrough is pioneering efforts to predict where these clouds may form and assess their climate-warming potential.

Today, we dive deep into the groundbreaking work of Marc and his team, exploring the challenges and opportunities in understanding and managing contrails' impact on our climate. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be enlightened by the remarkable advancements in aviation climate research. Welcome, Marc!

Talking points:

• Exploring the True Costs of Contrail Management

• Comparing Strategies: Pre-tactical vs. Real-Time Contrail Management

• The Role of AI and Weather Forecasting in Contrail Prediction

• Inside Google & Breakthrough's Partnership: Advancing ML

• Why the Contrail Problem Remains Largely Untouched by Startups

• Progress Toward Climate-Optimized Air Travel: How Close Are We?

• Future of Contrail Management: Regulations & Carbon Credits

• The 2030 Vision for Contrail Management: Who Will Lead and Breakthrough Energy's Role

Ressources

• Breakthrough Contrails: https://contrails.org/

• Contrails Open Source Models: https://py.contrails.org/

• Contrails Map: https://map.contrails.org/

• Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/contrails-observer/id6454432163