DLH_Balance_2016_ENG

Sustainability Report Balance // Issue 2016 // Lufthansa Group // 113 V VOC – Volatile Organic Compounds Volatile organic substances that are char- acterized by high steam pressure and thus evaporate easily into the atmosphere at room temperature. VOCs are present in solvents, cleaning agents, fuels, and other substances. In the presence of nitrogen oxides and intense sunlight, VOCs lead to the generation of ozone. W Water vapor The most important greenhouse gas, even ahead of carbon dioxide. Without water vapor from natural sources, the Earth’s surface would be around 22 degrees Celsius cooler. This makes water vapor responsible for two-thirds of the natural greenhouse effect (33 degrees Celsius). For each kilogram of kerosene burned, 1.24 kilograms of water vapor are released. Concerns that air traf c might increase the concentration of water vapor in the strato- sphere and thus change the climate have been refuted by scienti c research. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) concluded that even a one hundred-fold increase in the quantity of water vapor emitted by air traf c would not result in a detectable cli- matic signal.

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