The aviation industry is working hard to reduce emissions and its impact on the environment and any future legislation must take into account the overall effects of aviation on climate change and the industry’s vital importance to world trade. That was the clear message to members of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) at their annual Executive Conference in Copenhagen, recently.
Speaking in a special session on the environment, John Keenan, executive vice president & COO of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) said airlines have already made signifi cant progress in addressing climate change and are continuing to do so.
Aviation, he said, contributes some 2 per cent of man-made CO2 worldwide with an estimated climate change impact of 3.5 per cent. With demand for aviation growing, estimates suggest this will increase to 3 and 5 per cent respectively by 2050.
Airlines, he added, were driven to be fuel efficient. Continued increases in the cost of oil mean fuel has become the number one cost for most airlines. Consequently, airlines have every incentive to operate more efficiently.
An improving industry
US airlines have improved fuel efficiency 110 per cent since 1978 and achieved an overall 4 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions between 2000 and 2006 even with an increase in passenger and cargo volumes. ATA airlines, he confirmed, have committed to an additional 30 per cent fuel efficiency improvement before 2025.
In addition to greater fuel efficiency, modern aircraft and advances in airframe and engine technology are also producing positive results. Any climate change regulatory policy must take into account the negative impact it may have on airlines’ ability to invest in such improvements, said Keenan.
Professor Peter Morrell from the UK’s Cranfield University – author of a research paper commissioned by TIACA on the impact of air cargo on the environment – said operational improvements and the replacement of older aircraft types offer the potential for future reductions in fuel burn and CO2 emissions.
He estimates that air cargo’s contribution to global CO2 emissions is between 0.3-0.6 per cent depending on fuel allocation to cargo on passenger flights. Around 50 per cent of air cargo is carried on passenger flights but takes up only 20 per cent of the total payload of those flights.
Dr Peder Jensen of the European Environment Agency said that the aim must be to create a ‘level playing field’ where the ‘polluter pays’ principle is applied for environmental taxes using transparent calculation methods. This will result in predictability of cost for users.
Emissions trading
Addressing the European Parliament’s proposal to bring aviation activities within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), he said the EU generally favours international agreements but a lack of progress means the EU may have to ‘go it alone’.
Delegates were given a detailed insight into EU law related to ETS by Michael Renouf, a partner in the law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner. The proposal must be adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament and although the timescale for this is uncertain, it could still happen in 2008. Member States must then bring it into national law within one year, a move that could see aviation activities covered from 2011 or 2012.
Airlines, he recommended, should now be actively considering how ETS will affect their business.