The purpose of this study is to discuss the participation of Brazilian air transportation within the context of global climate change. It first briefly presents an inventory of CO:! emissions caused by airborne activities in Brazil and then shows a trend projection through to 2023, indicating the progress of these emissions, with eight possible mitigation strategies. The abatement potential for each of these strategies is also investigated. It is estimated that joint implementation of all these strategies within a typical projection of broad based sustainability (based on renewable energy sources with fair social., economic and technological development) could result in an annual reduction in CO2 emissions caused by airborne activities in Brazil up to 28.5% (compared to the trend projection for 2023). It is also estimated that the emissions avoided through joint implementation of the mitigation alternatives analyzed may well reach 82,000 Gg (or 10(9) g) of CO2 from 2003 through 2023. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.