The Hindu Business Line : Airlines’ vision for a carbon-free future

By 2010, intra-Asia traffic will be the largest single market in the world. With size comes responsibility. Asia has an important role in building aviation’s future and setting a benchmark for environmental responsibility.

Giovanni Bisignani

Aviation in is the lifeblood of the Asian economy. Across the region, 10.5 million aviation-related jobs support $807 billion in business. So it should come as no surprise that the industry is growing. What may surprise many is the responsible approach of the air transport industry — globally — to its environmental impacts.

Let’s start with the facts. The Nobel-Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the only authoritative source of global facts.

The IPCC estimates that aviation contributes 2 per cent of the world’s man-made CO{-2}. This is expected to grow to 3 per cent by 2050. This is far less than the current emissions from road transport, shipping, deforestation or energy production. Aviation is, and will remain, a small part of the big problem of climate change.

Being small is not a licence for complacency. And a growing carbon footprint is unacceptable for any industry. The challenge is to preserve the many benefits of aviation while eliminating any negative impacts.

Better fuel efficiency

Aviation has delivered impressive results. Over the last four decades, fuel efficiency improved 70 per cent. And the billions being invested in new aircraft — some of which were showcased at the Singapore Air Show in February — are helping put aviation on target for a further 25 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency by 2020.

It is not just buying new aircraft. How we operate them will play an important role.

IATA’s Green Teams are working with airlines around the world to identify environmental efficiencies. In 2007 they identified operational measures that saved 7 million tonnes of CO{-2}. Another 4 million tonnes of CO{-2} was saved by shortening over 300 routes.

In Asia, re-organising air traffic over the Bay of Bengal is saving 50,000 tonnes of CO{-2} a year. Modernised approach procedures at Japanese airports will save 160,000 tonnes of CO{-2}. And if the tangle of air traffic procedures for the Pear River Delta’s five airports could be sorted out, savings of 250,000 tonnes of CO{-2} are possible. There are many other examples on the cross-industry Website www.enviro.aero .

These achievements illustrate the positive impact of IATA’s Four Pillar Strategy on Climate Change — invest in new technology, operate aircraft effectively, build and use efficient infrastructure and provide positive economic incentives.

Together, these initiatives have limited the growth of our carbon footprint to 3 per cent per year, even while air travel expands at 5-6 per cent.

Zero emission

But we are aiming much higher. Last June, I challenged the industry to achieve carbon-neutral growth on the way to a carbon-free future by developing a zero-emission aircraft in 50 years’ time.

The industry united behind this goal, from airlines to manufacturers. The vision is ambitious. But it is absolutely possible for an industry that went from the Wright Brothers to the jet age in a similar time-frame. And today we carry 2.2 billion passengers safely each year.

Some potential building blocks already exist, including solar power, hydrogen cells and bio-fuel.

In February, IATA signed an agreement to support Solar Impulse, the solar aeroplane that will fly around the world with no fuel and zero emissions. And Virgin Atlantic, Boeing and General Electric are powering a plane using bio-fuel.

None of these initiatives alone will deliver all of the answers. But together they are a spark for innovation that can move us forward.

Asia has a role in building aviation’s future as a benchmark for environmental responsibility.

By 2010, intra-Asia traffic will be the largest single market in the world. With size comes responsibility. And that extends to the environment debate.

With an aircraft fleet that is two years younger than the global average of 11.8 years, it already has a head-start on fuel efficiency. And the region’s growth is a unique opportunity to develop leading edge infrastructure.

Opportunities for Asia

Asia also has the opportunity to avoid the political hypocrisy that has characterised the debate in Europe. Taxes applied in the name of the environment have only helped solve budget problems. And Europe’s rushed unilateral approach to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme is contrary to international treaties.

The legal battles that are sure to follow will only distract attention from solving real issues — such as saving 12 million tonnes of CO{-2} with a Single European Sky for air traffic management that has been stalled for decades.

Where does Asia fit? There are two unique opportunities. First, the APEC transport ministers laid the groundwork for environmental leadership last year with an agreement that technology, operations and infrastructure must be at the core of aviation’s environmental agenda in the region. Turning this from words to reality with efficiency targets and timelines would be real progress.

Second, the region’s sovereign wealth funds could be used strategically to fund basic research in green technologies. And, with the G8 meeting in Japan later this year, there is a ready-made global stage for Asia to show its support for the air transport industry’s strong vision for environmental responsibility.

(The author is Director-General and CEO, International Air Transport Association.)

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