Our Mission
Turning contrail research
into climate action.
Photograph of an airplane flying through the sky with no contrails behind itPhotograph of an airplane flying through the sky with no contrails behind it
What is Contrails.org?
Contrails.org is a science-led non-profit that aims to propel contrail research into climate action.
Condensation trails (contrails) are created when soot and water vapor are emitted from an aircraft's jet engines in a cold and humid atmosphere. For 5% of flights, contrails act as a potent greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the atmosphere, and are likely responsible for 1-2% of all human-caused global warming. Managing these contrails is an important pathway for aviation to significantly reduce its climate impact in the next decade.
Launched in 2025 and part of the Breakthrough Energy platform, Contrails.org brings together leading scientists, technologists, and policy experts. Working in collaboration with the aviation industry, academic partners, policymakers and civil society, we are accelerating the scientific research, technological innovations and incentives needed to make contrail management a practical reality. Our work is focused across three interconnected areas:
Science: Coordinate, support and sponsor strategic research to better model, predict and measure contrails and their climate impacts, so first movers are supported with the science they need to deliver maximum impact
Technology: Prove feasibility at scale by developing the open-source models, tools and protocols required for contrail avoidance, validated via real-world operational demonstrations with airlines and air navigation service providers
Adoption: Raise awareness on contrail-climate impacts and mitigation potential, and resolve system-level hurdles to implementing contrail avoidance and foster incentives to drive adoption
Through these efforts, Contrails.org wants to galvanize action towards contrail management. By doing so together, we can create a rapid, scalable and affordable pathway to reduce a significant source of global heating.
Contributors

We are part of a multi-disciplinary network of organizations collaborating on contrail management.

Research
Imperial College London (Transport & Environment Laboratory)
Imperial College London (Transport & Environment Laboratory)
MIT (Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment)
MIT (Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment)
UMadrid
UMadrid
NASA (Langley Research Center)
NASA (Langley Research Center)
Aviation Impact Accelerator
Aviation Impact Accelerator
Carnegie Sciences
Carnegie Sciences
Environment Canada
Environment Canada
IAGOS
IAGOS
DLR (Institute of Atmospheric Physics)
DLR (Institute of Atmospheric Physics)
Meteo-France
Meteo-France
Global Meteor Network
Global Meteor Network
Research
Imperial College London (Transport & Environment Laboratory)
Imperial College London (Transport & Environment Laboratory)
Aviation Impact Accelerator
Aviation Impact Accelerator
DLR (Institute of Atmospheric Physics)
DLR (Institute of Atmospheric Physics)
MIT (Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment)
MIT (Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment)
Carnegie Sciences
Carnegie Sciences
Meteo-France
Meteo-France
UMadrid
UMadrid
Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Global Meteor Network
Global Meteor Network
NASA (Langley Research Center)
NASA (Langley Research Center)
IAGOS
IAGOS
Technology
Google
Google
Estuaire
Estuaire
Airbus
Airbus
Loretta
Loretta
Thales
Thales
Pace
Pace
Spire Aviation
Spire Aviation
Flightkeys
Flightkeys
CAE
CAE
Technology
Google
Google
Thales
Thales
CAE
CAE
Estuaire
Estuaire
Pace
Pace
Airbus
Airbus
Spire Aviation
Spire Aviation
Loretta
Loretta
Flightkeys
Flightkeys
Operations
RMI
RMI
Eurocontrol
Eurocontrol
FAA
FAA
NATS
NATS
Operations
RMI
RMI
Eurocontrol
Eurocontrol
FAA
FAA
NATS
NATS
Our Tools
See what we're building
We are building open tools and methods to advance a roadmap for contrail avoidance across the aviation industry. Learn more on Github and py.contrails.org.
You can see these tools in action on the Contrails API, Contrail Map and the Contrail Navigator.
Contact us for more information or to get involved.