Climate on the Klamath | Understanding Contrails: The Hidden Climate Impact of Flight
Climate on the Klamath is a full day of expert presentations and panel discussions on the future of energy, environmental law, coastal resilience, aviation, and more. The event kicks off SF Climate Week aboard the Historic Klamath and is hosted by the Bay Area Council, the business association and public policy institute for the San Francisco Bay Area & Silicon Valley.
Kicking off our afternoon session, join us for our 1 PM panel hosted by Alaska Airlines: Understanding Contrails: The Hidden Climate Impact of Flight
Contrails - those thin, icy lines tracing aircraft across the sky - are far more than a visual byproduct of aviation. They’re one of the largest sources of aviation’s warming impact, yet also one of the least understood. This panel brings together leaders at the forefront of contrail science and mitigation: a pilot–researcher from Alaska Airlines, a technical expert from Contrails.org and a Principal from RMI.
Together, they’ll unpack the latest science on how and why contrails form, their outsized role in short‑term warming, and what makes certain flights more likely to create them. The conversation will explore what airlines are already doing—from operational experiments to data-driven flight planning—and what future solutions could look like as the industry works toward climate-aligned aviation. Expect a candid, technically grounded discussion about the opportunities, tradeoffs, and collaborative pathways that could meaningfully reduce contrail warming in the decade ahead.
Speakers:
- Ryan Spies, Managing Director, Sustainability, Alaska Airlines (Moderator)
- Captain Luc Busquin, Alaska Airlines and Founder of ContrailCast
- Tom Dean, Research Director at Contrails.org
- Andrew Chen, Principal, Aviation Decarbonization at RMI
Attendees are encouraged to stay for the full day of programming, capped with a reception sponsored by our presenting sponsor Alaska Airlines, along with Farella Braun + Martel, Ramboll, the Port of Redwood City, Stanford University, and PG&E.