Copenhagen's failure to deliver an aviation emissions deal leaves sector facing an uncertain future
Tue 22 Dec 2009 - Following earlier hopes that an agreement on international aviation emissions might be reached during the first week of the Copenhagen climate change summit, negotiations unravelled during the final chaotic days as procedural wrangles put paid to any progress. Despite the largely disappointing outcome, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and industry bodies representing airlines and airports were publicly upbeat as no deal was better than a bad one from their point of view. ICAO talked of "forging ahead" with its own "aggressive" plan of action on combating climate change and IATA called the eventual agreement, the Copenhagen Accord, "an important step in the right direction". NGOs, on the other hand, said the outcome was missed opportunity and a great loss for the sector. Read more ...
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Qantas launches new domestic onboard recycling programme in effort to reduce landfill waste by a quarter
Mon 21 Dec 2009 - Qantas has launched a new domestic onboard recycling programme in partnership with Closed Loop Recycling, which provides recycling solutions and environmentally sustainable packaging. To support its activities, Qantas has developed a reference page on its website for customers interested in seeking information on the recycling programme and all other environmental initiatives. Meanwhile, Green Flight, an Australian provider of environmental solutions for airlines, has combined with US-based Aero Jet Wash to launch GreenWash, a new environmentally safe jet engine washing service. Read more ...
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Malmö Aviation achieves ISO 14001 certification as part of long-term commitment to environmental performance
Mon 21 Dec 2009 - Malmo Aviation, Sweden's second-largest airline, has achieved the ISO 14001 international standard on environmental management, which the carrier says will further reinforce continued environmental efforts to reduce carbon and noise emissions as well as waste. The standard is used within all categories of business and industry to assure systematic and controlled environmental improvements. Environmental auditors reported the airline had effectively managed to inspire commitment throughout the organization to the environmental objectives it had set and thus raise the company's environmental awareness. Read more ...
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SITA offers six months free data storage as airlines gear up for reporting at the start of EU ETS baseline year
Mon 21 Dec 2009 - Aviation IT specialist SITA is offering airlines six months free collection and storage of data required in compliance with the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). This option within SITA's Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) software, Aircraft Emissions Manager, will be placed at the disposal of airlines for this limited period as they prepare to begin recording of data for every flight from, to and within the European Union from 1 January 2010 - just over a week's time. This important coming year is the baseline that will determine the level of allowances each operator will have until 2020. Meanwhile, Liberator has signed a five-year global reseller agreement with SITA regarding the Irish-based company's fuel savings solution. Read more ...
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Three major US airlines and ATA file suit in London against UK Government over inclusion in EU ETS
Fri 18 Dec 2009 - With imperfect timing as nations attempt to reach a global solution on international aviation emissions in Copenhagen, three US airlines, American, Continental and United, together with the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), have mounted a legal challenge against the UK Government concerning the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The US airline sector has consistently objected to the inclusion of their flights to and from Europe into the EU ETS arguing that this was in contravention of the Chicago Convention, the international treaty covering aviation. Earlier this week, IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani warned the EU ETS would not start on time in 2012 as international challenges would be made against it. Read more ...
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Hopenhagen turning to Nopenhagen as international aviation and shipping emissions fall victim to process
Thu 17 Dec 2009 - On the eve of the final day of the climate change summit in Copenhagen, it is looking increasingly unlikely a deal on bunker (international aviation and shipping) fuel emissions can be reached. According to a source, draft texts are due to be tabled at the relevant Contact Group later today but the drawn-out procedural process that has dogged the overall negotiations is hampering progress. A feasible way forward to reduce bunker emissions has yet to identified, said a group of NGOs today, who called for the EU to "fight back" on a deal. However, IATA's Paul Steele, who is heading up the aviation industry delegation in Copenhagen, believed the EU's firm targets on reductions in bunker emissions had been a stumbling block with many developing nations. Read more ...
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Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner finally takes to the skies, promising substantial reductions in emissions and noise
Wed 16 Dec 2009 - Boeing's first new airplane for over decade, the 787 Dreamliner, finally took to the skies yesterday from its home base in Everett, Washington. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on its maiden test flight, the flight test programme will continue over the coming months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines. The plane manufacturer claims the all-new aircraft will use 20 percent less fuel than other current airplanes of comparable size and the 85 dbA noise footprint is 60 percent smaller. First deliveries are expected in the fourth quarter of 2010 to launch customer All Nippon Airways. The flight coincides with a prediction by IATA that airlines will continue to fare badly in 2010. Read more ...
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Major airlines sign groundbreaking agreement with two producers on the purchase of alternative jet fuel
Tue 15 Dec 2009 - A group of 15 major airlines, led by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with AltAir Fuels and Rentech for future supplies of alternative aviation jet fuel. Under the agreement with Seattle-based AltAir Fuels, 14 airlines from the United States, Mexico, Canada and Germany will negotiate a future purchase of up to 750 million gallons of camelina-derived renewable jet fuel and diesel. The fuel is to be produced at a new facility in Anacortes, Washington State, from camelina sourced from Sustainable Oils and refined using technology from Honeywell's UOP. Operations are slated to begin in 2012, with the potential for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport becoming the world's first major airport to supply its airline customers with drop-in renewable jet fuel. Read more ...
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UK opens consultation on second stage of transposing Aviation EU ETS directive into national regulations
Mon 14 Dec 2009 - The UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has opened a 12-week public consultation seeking views on the second set of draft UK regulations to transpose the EU directive on the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The first set came into force on 17 September 2009 in order to transpose the key parts of the Aviation Directive that enabled the UK Government with the necessary legal powers to determine aircraft operators' emissions plans and applications for a free allocation before the first reporting year starting 1 January 2010. These new regulations will ultimately repeal in part and replace the first stage regulations and provide for a full transposition of the Directive. Read more ...
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Glimmers of hope emerge from Copenhagen on progress towards a climate deal on international aviation
Mon 14 Dec 2009 - As the first week drew to a close of the UNFCCC COP 15 climate change conference in Copenhagen, negotiators dealing with bunker fuel emissions (international aviation and shipping emissions) are inching slowly and painfully towards an agreed text to take forward to the next stage of the process. In a briefing, it was suggested that a deal can be done in Copenhagen that would give a clear signal and direction to both ICAO and the IMO, the UN maritime agency, on the emissions reductions required by the sectors and a timeline by which to develop a framework. However, other COP-watchers are not so optimistic, citing continued problems with the major developing nations over the CBDR principle and the lower ambitions of some developed countries. Read more ...
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Industry backs ICAO leadership in call for COP 15 to deliver a global agreement on international aviation emissions
Thu 10 Dec 2009 - As the Copenhagen climate change summit nears the end of its first week, airline and airport representatives have called on delegates and governments to back the aviation industry's environmental goals and its global sectoral approach to reducing aviation emissions. At an official side meeting held by the International Civil Aviation Organization on Tuesday, ICAO President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez said that consensus building and cooperation among the 190 Member States of the agency and the sustained efforts of the air transport industry had resulted in "remarkable progress" in reducing the impact of engine emissions over the past 40 years. Speaking at the same event, IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said the industry was ahead of its own regulators in its approach to climate change. Read more ...
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Winners and losers as airline industry is forced to spend 23-35 billion euros on EU ETS allowances, finds report
Thu 10 Dec 2009 – A new report by the Carbon Trust underlines the uncertainty faced by airlines over the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on their profits. With the likelihood that the industry will be required to purchase 23-35 billion euros ($34-$52bn) of additional allowances over the period 2012-2020, there will be winners and losers. The report finds those airlines that improve fuel efficiency have the potential to benefit significantly from the EU ETS, and could increase profitability by 20-40 percent compared to average airlines, assuming carbon costs between 25-50 euros/tCO2 ($37-74/tCO2), whereas the least fuel efficient airlines could see profits drop by as much as 40 percent. Read more ...
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UK climate change watchdog warns of tough options ahead on aviation growth if national carbon targets are to be met
Wed 9 Dec 2009 - The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which advises the UK Government on carbon targets, says that future aviation policy must be based on restricting a 'business as usual' growth in air passenger numbers if national reduction targets in CO2 emissions to 2050 are to be met. Instead of a forecasted growth of 200 percent, the figure must be kept to below 60 percent if the UK is to meet the Government's target that aviation emissions in 2050 must not exceed 2005 levels. The CCC report finds that the aviation industry's technological and operational fuel efficiency gains are unlikely to average more than 0.8 percent a year until 2050, a less optimistic viewpoint than that forecasted by the industry itself, and foresees a only a 10 percent take-up of sustainable aviation biofuels in 2050. Read more ...
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With environmental provisos, the UK parliamentary cross-party Transport Committee backs Heathrow expansion
Mon 7 Dec 2009 – The UK's parliamentary Transport Committee of cross-party MPs has endorsed the UK Government's support for a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport, subject to the application of tough environmental conditions. In its wide-ranging report, The Future of Aviation, the Committee called on the Government to ensure that the UK's major airports, particularly Heathrow, are connected to a future high-speed rail system. It also stressed the need to curb pollution from aviation with stronger environmental standards to reduce CO2, air pollution and noise from aircraft, and called for decisive efforts to remove older and noisier planes. The Committee expressed doubts as to whether the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme would have the required effect of driving investment in low-carbon aviation. Read more ...
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Climate financing key to achieving an agreement in Copenhagen on international aviation emissions reductions
Sun 6 Dec 2009 - With two weeks of talks and negotiations starting tomorrow at the UN Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, lobbyists from both the aviation industry and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will separately be pressing developing countries of the need to reduce international aviation emissions through a global sectoral approach. For the first time since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, Copenhagen presents a real opportunity for the sector's emissions to be finally included in a global agreement. In order to reach a deal on the wider stage, the developed nations will be required to dig deep into their pockets to help the developing nations mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions and they will look to industries such as aviation to help finance the promised funding. Read more ...
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Algae jet fuel supplier Solazyme ranked the 'hottest' in annual poll of the world's top bioenergy companies
Fri 4 Dec 2009 - San Francisco-based Solazyme has come top in a poll of the biofuel industry's 'hottest' companies for 2009/10, as voted by a panel of invited international selectors and the subscribers of Biofuels Digest, the sector's leading publication. Solazyme was recently awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense to supply the air force of the US Navy with 1,500 gallons (5,700 litres) of algae-derived jet fuel for testing and certification. Other jet biofuel companies who performed well in the poll include Amyris Biotechnologies (3rd), Sapphire Energy (5th) and Honeywell's UOP (12th). Read more ...
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EasyJet CEO calls for tough legislation on aircraft emission standards and the grounding of 'old smokers'
Tue 1 Dec 2009 - EasyJet Chief Executive Andy Harrison has called for tough mandatory emission standards that would lead to a 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from the next generation of aircraft. He said that the current Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 narrowbody families were now already over 20 years old and the introduction of the standards should start with short-haul aircraft. EasyJet proposes that by 2015 every new aircraft would have to meet a minimum standard of fuel efficiency, by 2024 airlines could not add to its fleet any aircraft that did not meet the standard and that by 2030 airlines could not operate any aircraft that did not meet the standard. Read more ...
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China Airlines reaches an environmental milestone by quantifying and reporting its greenhouse gas emissions
Tue 1 Dec 2009 - Taiwan's China Airlines has had its greenhouse gas emissions inventory verified and certified to the ISO 14064-1:2006 standard, the first airline in the country to achieve this level. The standard specifies principles and requirements at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals. It includes requirements for the design, development, management, reporting and verification of an organization's GHG inventory. The airline sees it as an important step in its commitment to reducing emissions. Read more ...
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Washington DC airports provides public with online access to local aircraft noise and flight tracking data
Tue 1 Dec 2009 - The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has set up a new online noise and flight tracking tool, called Airscene, on its website. It will provide direct access to archival data in the region around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. Due to security concerns, live flight tracks will not be available. Noise data is loaded into the system each night and can be viewed the next day, with flight track data generally available within 72 hours after the flight occurs. Read more ...
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Improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency have stagnated over past two decades, reveals new study
Mon 30 Nov 2009 - According to a comprehensive analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), advancements in the efficiency of commercial aircraft have largely stood still in the last two decades, contrary to the strides made during the previous thirty years. The researchers say that without an effective carbon dioxide emission standard that covers aircraft types currently in production as well as newly-introduced lines, fuel prices alone are unlikely to spur large improvements. During the study, more than 25,000 planes produced and delivered over the past 50 years were analyzed. The authors suggest that contrary to conventional wisdom, the efficiency of new commercial jet aircraft does not improve continuously. Read more ...
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MINT concludes series of demonstration flights aimed to reduce emissions and noise around airports
Mon 30 Nov 2009 - The series of 10 demonstration flights conducted by the MINT project that has been trialling modern technology and procedures to reduce aircraft emissions and noise concluded last week with results showing average reductions of 518kg of CO2 per landing into Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. The final flight last Wednesday of a Novair Airbus A321 had on board industry and EU stakeholders as well the media. The main purpose of the MINT (Minimum CO2 in Terminal Manoeuvring Area) project is to investigate the potential of the latest navigation systems in reducing flight routings and therefore fuel and emissions savings on landing approaches. The project has been carried out under the management of Europe's SESAR Joint Undertaking. Read more ...
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Vienna International doubles the number of natural gas airside cars, reducing CO2 emissions by 30 percent
Fri 27 Nov 2009 - Flughafen Wien, the operator of Vienna International Airport, has purchased 37 new natural gas-operated cars to add to the 37 already in the fleet. With a range of 440km, the cars are used by handling agents and loading supervisors as mobile offices in airside operations and each come equipped with a laptop computer and printer. In comparison with petrol versions, the Caddy EcoFuel natural gas car emits 30 percent less CO2, 85 percent less nitrogen oxide and up to 90 percent less carbon monoxide, as well as costing roughly 40 percent less to run per kilometre. In addition, there are no sulphur dioxide or soot particle emissions as is found with diesel vehicles. Read more ...
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Business aviation operators and manufacturers agree to back the emissions goals of ICAO's action programme
Fri 27 Nov 2009 - At a joint presentation by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the International Business Aviation Council, the global business aviation sector announced it would commit to specific targets on reducing aviation emissions. The two bodies said they would adopt "an aggressive strategy" to achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2020, improve fuel efficiency by an average of 2 percent per year from now until 2020 and reduce total carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2050 relative to 2005. The plan, they said, supports the ICAO Programme of Action on International Aviation and Climate Change agreed at last month's ICAO High-Level Meeting. Read more ...
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Regulatory authorities report monitoring plans so far submitted cover nearly all aviation EU ETS emissions
Wed 25 Nov 2009 - The Competent Authorities responsible for monitoring and administering most of the aviation CO2 emissions to be covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme say that all the larger aircraft operators under their administration have now submitted monitoring plans. The UK reports that operators responsible for 98 percent of the total CO2 emissions produced by aircraft operators attributed by the European Commission to the UK for regulation have now complied with the scheme and submitted plans to the Environment Agency, with Germany reporting a 97 percent compliance. However, many hundreds - possibly thousands - of smaller operators on the Commission's list remain unaccounted for or who have not submitted plans. Read more ...
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KLM 747 takes off on biofuel flight and announces SkyEnergy consortium to further develop biokerosene fuels
Mon 23 Nov 2009 - A KLM Boeing 747 took to the skies today on an hour-long demonstration flight from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport with one of its four GE CF6-80C2 engines using a 50/50 blend of camelina sourced from the United States and conventional Jet A1 fuel. Unlike previous demonstration flights, this flight carried around 40 passengers in addition to crew members, including the Dutch economics affairs minister, KLM CEO Peter Hartman and other VIPs. Around 8,000 litres of camelina-derived jet fuel was supplied by Sustainable Oils and Great Plains and refined by Honeywell's UOP. After the flight, KLM announced it had formed the SkyEnergy consortium with North Sea Petroleum and Spring Associates to accelerate the development of biokerosene. Read more ...
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ICAO conference on alternative fuels endorses global framework on development and implementation
Mon 23 Nov 2009 - A conference held by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded last week in Rio de Janeiro with the formation of the Global Framework on Aviation and Alternative Fuels. It will take the form of a continually updated document on the ICAO website that will share information, best practices and future initiatives by ICAO Member States and the air transport industry. ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin said that within 10 years, 10 percent of fuel used by international aviation could come from sustainable alternative sources. Read more ...
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Brazilian consortium to evaluate technical and sustainability potential of sugar cane derived renewable jet fuel
Mon 23 Nov 2009 - Brazilian airplane maker Embraer, engine manufacturer General Electric and renewable chemicals and transport fuel producer Amyris have joined forces to evaluate the potential of renewable jet fuel derived from sugar cane feedstock. If tests prove successful, the partners anticipate using the fuel on a demonstration flight in early 2012 of a GE-powered Embraer E-Jet belonging to Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aereas. The consortium says the Amyris No Compromise jet fuel has already undergone previous testing by the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute and GE Aviation. Amyris says its jet fuel "is unlike other renewable jet fuel alternatives" and performs well at low temperatures, can be produced in the US at competitive economics, and meets initial certification criteria. Read more ...
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Europeans have become less tolerant to aircraft noise, reports new EU-funded research project
Fri 20 Nov 2009 – According to research just published in the journal Environment International, aircraft noise has become more annoying for European citizens in recent years. While annoyance with road traffic had remained constant, attitudes to aircraft noise have increased and the researchers from the EU-funded HYENA (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) project have called for changes to the standard procedure used in Europe to predict aircraft noise annoyance. Between 2003 and 2005, nearly 5,000 people aged between 45 and 70 who lived near major airports in Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, London, Milan and Stockholm were interviewed. Read more ...
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LOT CEO says airlines cannot ignore climate change truths but policy makers should be more aware of industry problems
Wed 18 Nov 2009 - The CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, Sebastian Mikosz, has said that although the aviation industry "cannot hide behind the truth of climate change evidence", policy-makers from the EU and those attending the forthcoming COP 15 climate change summit in Copenhagen should be more aware of the industry's difficult trading conditions. He was speaking at an aviation and the environment conference in Warsaw this week jointly organized by the airline and Boeing. Mikosz said many environmental benefits go hand in hand with business advantages, such as gains in fuel and operational efficiencies. LOT's Head of Environment, Andrzej Rode, also pointed out that weight savings in aircraft and equipment could offer significant cost and environmental benefits. Read more ...
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Stockholm-Arlanda becomes first airport to achieve carbon neutrality status in industry accreditation scheme
Tue 17 Nov 2009 - Following the launch of Airport Carbon Accreditation by ACI Europe in June, Stockholm-Arlanda has been named the first airport to be accredited at the highest level. The scheme is comprised of four progressive levels: Mapping, Reduction, Optimization and Neutrality. The Neutrality level recognizes that the airport has achieved a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions over the last three years. Additionally, it reflects that the airport is also actively engaging local stakeholders to lower their respective emissions and is also offsetting the remaining emissions under its direct control. Meanwhile, the airport's operator, LFV, has signed an agreement in which a vehicle biogas filling station will be built at the airport. Read more ...
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Continental Airlines claims major success with its expanded inflight and terminal recycling programme
Mon 16 Nov 2009 - Continental Airlines has reported a major increase in the amount of waste material it has recycled this year. The airline has collected more than four million pounds (1,800 tonnes) of mixed recyclables during 2009 at its Houston Intercontinental, New York Newark and Cleveland hubs, an 800 percent year year-on-year increase. Mixed recyclables - newspapers, cans and plastic bottles - are collected in designated 'EcoSkies' recycling bins. Proceeds from the recycling are re-invested back into the programme or donated to We Care, a non-profit charity organization that provides financial assistance to company employees in need. Read more ...
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Air New Zealand launch customer for new 'Sharklet' wingtips for Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft
Mon 16 Nov 2009 - Airbus has launched a large wingtip device option for new Airbus A320 Family aircraft that is expected to provide savings of around 3.5 percent in fuel burn and carbon emissions over longer sectors. Air New Zealand is to be the launch customer for the device, called the 'Sharklet', when it takes delivery of new A320 aircraft around the end of 2012, to be followed by the other A320 Family models from 2013. The efficiency improvement is additional to those achieved by the A320 classic wingtip 'fence'. Operators should also gain from a reduction in average take-off thrust, with subsequent savings in take-off noise. Other benefits are an enhanced climb performance and higher initial cruise altitude. Read more ...
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India to map carbon footprint of the country's airline operations for the first time
Fri 13 Nov 2009 - India is to map for the first time the carbon emissions of its airline sector over the next two months, according to a report in India Today. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the three main suppliers of jet fuel in the country to furnish it with data of sales. Together with the DGCA's inventory of aircraft in operation, the fuel sales data will be used to estimate fuel burn and in turn carbon emissions. The Indian aviation sector grew at a 20 percent average annual growth between 2003/4 and 2008/9 although it has shrunk this year due to the economic slowdown. India was blamed for taking a negative line at the ICAO High-Level Meeting on international aviation and climate change in October. Read more ...
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US Air Force starts construction of an alternative jet fuel facility and evaluates switch to commercial Jet A fuel
Thu 12 Nov 2009 – The US Air Force has started construction of a new $2.5 million research facility to help produce alternative jet fuels derived from coal or biomass. The new Assured Aerospace Fuels Research facility at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio will be able to produce 15 to 25 gallons a day of jet fuel so that the Air Force does not have to rely on outside commercial industry for supply. The 4,000-square-foot (372sq.m) facility is expected to be completed towards the end of next year. Meanwhile, in order to simplify the fuel supply chain and save money, the US Air Force Petroleum Agency has announced it will conduct demonstrations to use commercial aviation Jet A fuel instead of military standard JP-8. The US Department of Transport reports the average cost of Jet A fuel has fallen 41 percent from a year ago, with demand dropping 6.7 percent. Read more ...
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Latest report seeks to demonstrate that the UK aviation industry more than covers its environmental costs
Mon 9 Nov 2009 - According to a report published by Oxera Consulting, the revenues raised by the UK's Air Passenger Duty (APD) in 2007 covered the UK Government's own carbon emissions cost assessment for the UK aviation industry, including allowing for a radiative forcing factor. Given continued increases in APD, along with the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment in 2010 and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2012, the expected contribution of UK aviation sector in 2012 will exceed its external environmental costs by between £700 million ($1.18bn) and £1.1 billion ($1.85bn), depending on future carbon prices. The report also seeks to answer criticism that aviation does not pay its fair share of tax due to its exemption from VAT and fuel duty and finds that even without APD, the sector contributes about 32.5 percent of the wealth it generates in tax, very similar to the UK economy as a whole. Read more ...
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Anti-aviation expansion groups gather to coordinate campaign activities across Europe
Mon 9 Nov 2009 - Campaigners from 11 countries met in Brussels last week to forge new alliances and coordinate their activities to halt the expansion of airports and the growth in the number of flights in Europe. They included local airport groups, representatives of national environmental organizations and direct action activists such as the UK's Plane Stupid. The campaigners agreed to produce joint reports, set up networks sharing information and coordinate demonstrations. Read more ...
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Airports urge governments to endorse aviation industry position in climate change negotiations
Fri 6 Nov 2009 - At the ACI World Annual General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, airports have voted to support an ACI Resolution urging governments to back the global sectoral approach jointly proposed by the aviation industry on action to reduce its impact on climate change. The resolution also called on governments to endorse ICAO's Programme of Action on International Aviation and Climate Change at the forthcoming COP 15 summit in Copenhagen. Alexander ter Kuile, outgoing Secretary General of CANSO, the trade body representing air navigation service organizations, told the Assembly that an 'Aviation Industry Council' should be established to coordinate all global aviation sectors and raise the performance of the aviation system, citing the industry's common position on climate change action as an example of what could be achieved. Read more ...
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KLM to join the jet biofuel demonstration flight club this month using a camelina blended bio-kerosene
Thu 5 Nov 2009 - KLM has announced that it will conduct a demonstration flight on November 23 in which one of the four engines of a Boeing 747 will be powered by a blended mixture of 50 percent camelina and 50 percent standard Jet A1 kerosene. The airline is claiming a world first as passengers will be carried for the first time on a biofuel flight. As yet, biofuels have not been certified for use in commercial operations but in this case the passengers will come from a selected group rather than be fare paying. Meanwhile, biofuel refining technology supplier Honeywell's UOP has signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation to evaluate Chinese feedstocks for the production of green jet fuels in the country. Read more ...
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ICAO to supply Amadeus with carbon emissions data to allow customers to estimate travel carbon footprint
Wed 4 Nov 2009 - The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has agreed to supply global travel technology and distribution solutions provider Amadeus with data from its Carbon Emissions Calculator. The data will allow Amadeus customers to estimate the carbon emissions of their travel. The Calculator's methodology, which was developed through ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), takes into account a range of variables such as aircraft type, route specific data, passenger load factors and cargo carried. Meanwhile, ICAO has recently added a slogan on its website home page, 'Act Global: Uniting Aviation on Climate Change', which links to a page addressing the challenges of reducing aviation emissions. Read more ...
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ANA's 'e-flights' complete a month-long programme of in-flight environmental initiatives and promotion
Wed 4 Nov 2009 - All Nippon Airways (ANA) has just completed a month-long series of 42 domestic and international 'e-flights' to promote ecological travel on the ground and in the sky as part of a range of environmental initiatives. The eco-trial flights, which first started in 2006, provide in-flight amenities that are more environmentally friendly, as well as informing passengers on how to reduce the impact of carbon emissions on their journeys. A short video on ANA's various environmental preservation activities is shown both onboard and on the ground. Read more ...
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ATA calls on US Government to resist growing demands for an international air tax to fund climate adaptation
Tue 3 Nov 2009 - Growing industry fears that an international air passenger adaptation tax could be levied to provide funds to help the least developed countries cope with the effects of climate change has prompted the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) to call on US climate negotiators to oppose the measure. The International Air Passenger Adaptation Levy was originally proposed by the Maldives on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at last December's UNFCCC meeting in Bali. The levy would place a two-tier charge, based on class of travel, on an international flight ticket and would be expected to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion annually. Read more ...
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Climate impact of aircraft contrails much larger than was previously thought, says aviation climate scientist
Fri 30 Oct 2009 - According to a leading climate scientist, recent studies have shown the net warming effect of aviation induced cloudiness (AIC) is far larger, up to 30 times more, than had previously been thought and immediate attention should be given to mitigate the impact. Professor Ulrich Schumann, Head of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), said more focus should be placed on reducing aircraft contrails through improved air traffic management and better weather forecasting. Depending on temperature and humidity, contrails occur inside thin cirrus in the upper troposphere, which is the cruising altitude of most aircraft. By adjusting the flight level, more than 50 percent of contrails could be avoided, said Prof Schumann. Read more ...
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NAV CANADA predicts annual average savings of over one million tonnes of aviation GHG emissions to 2016
Fri 30 Oct 2009 - Canada's air navigation service provider NAV CANADA has estimated that improved efficiencies achieved through new technologies and procedures will save 8.4 million tonnes of aviation greenhouse gas emissions and C$3 billion (US$2.8bn) in fuel costs for the period 2009 to 2016. A large proportion of the savings will come from extended coverage of NAV CANADA's Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) installation programme. Expanded northern surveillance provided by ADS-B will facilitate more efficient use of polar routes for inter-continental flights, which will significantly reduce flight times and produce estimated savings of 3.6 million tonnes of GHG and over C$1.1 billion (US$1bn) in fuel by 2016. Read more ...
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Frankfurt Airport looks to geothermal and biogas to supply it with renewable energy heating and power
Thu 29 Oct 2009 - Fraport, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport, has signed an agreement with a renewable energy joint venture to explore and develop the potential of the geothermal field that lies to the south of the airport. If the exploration proves successful, the partners will construct a hybrid power plant that will combine geothermal power and biogas to produce electricity and heat for the airport. Geologically, the Walldorf geothermal field is part of the Upper Rhine Valley, which in turn lies in the northern part of a continental rift system that runs through the length of central Europe. With its extremely high temperatures and heat flow density, it offers excellent conditions for electricity generation. Read more ...
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New code of practice on aircraft taxiing published to cut emissions and improve local air quality at UK airports
Mon 26 Oct 2009 - A new initiative by a coalition of aviation representatives has been launched to cut aircraft noise and emissions, and improve local air quality, at UK airports. The new Departures Code of Practice promotes the environmental benefits of how aircraft can taxi to and from the runway with less than all engines operating. The Code notes that shutting down an engine during taxi-in operations can deliver reductions of 20 to 40 percent of the ground level fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and 10 to 30 percent of ground emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx), depending on aircraft type and operator technique. The interim Code has been published ahead of the full version early next year that will include advice on using ground power rather than aircraft APUs, as well as procedures such as Continuous Climb Departures and Collaborative Decision Making. Read more ...
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Southwest Airlines unveils its Green Plane for testing lighter and more eco friendly interior materials
Fri 23 Oct 2009 - US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines has rolled out a dedicated Boeing 737-700 'Green Plane' that will be used to test new environmentally responsible cabin interior materials and passenger comfort products. All of the initiatives being tested, when combined, are expected to equate to weight savings of almost five pounds (2.27kg) per seat, says Southwest, thus saving fuel and emissions, along with adding recyclable elements to the cabin interior and reducing waste. In addition, the airline is about to start a more robust onboard recycling programme that will allow it to capture more recyclable material. Read more ...
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Concerned UK Government sends out open letter reminding operators of their compliance obligations under the EU ETS
Fri 23 Oct 2009 - With the first deadline facing the 891 aircraft operators regulated by the United Kingdom under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) less than three weeks away, the UK's Department for Transport (DfT) has published an open letter from the UK Director General of Civil Aviation. It highlights the important deadlines that operators should be aware of, explains how to comply and warns of the "serious consequences" of a failure to do so. Remarkably, only 75 operators have so far submitted applications for an emissions plan. Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) now believes that a number of unidentified aircraft operators that use air navigation service companies to provide flight planning and route payments may have been missed off its EU ETS list. Read more ...
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EU environment ministers agree to propose 10 percent cuts on aviation CO2 emissions at Copenhagen summit
Wed 21 Oct 2009 - At a meeting in Luxembourg today, environment ministers from the 27 EU Member States agreed to put forward a proposal to the UNFCCC climate change summit in Copenhagen in December that global emissions from international aviation be cut by 10 percent by 2020 based on 2005 levels, with a higher cut for shipping. In the agreed text, the EU says international aviation and shipping emissions should be incorporated into a Copenhagen agreement and that Parties should commit to work through ICAO and IMO to enable an agreement that does not lead to competitive distortions or carbon leakage, that is agreed in 2010 and approved by 2011. The move comes less than a fortnight after the ICAO High-Level Meeting at which Contracting States failed to agree on binding reduction targets, instead falling back on an annual 2 percent fuel efficiency improvement goal through to 2020 and beyond to 2050. Read more ...
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Database launched to provide aviation industry with comprehensive guidelines on airport sustainability
Wed 21 Oct 2009 - A new resource to help airports worldwide to share and access new and evolving trends in airport sustainability has been launched in the United States. The consolidated database includes almost 900 existing sustainability measures undertaken at airports in North America. Users are able to search for specific examples based on a broad range of criteria, with each practice categorized in three areas: Activities (such as construction, operations, administration), Functional (retail, rental car, taxiway) and EONS (economic, operations, natural resources, social). Read more ...
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Boeing and UOP to collaborate with Mexican government on sustainable aviation fuels research and development
Wed 21 Oct 2009 - Boeing has extended its recent flurry of aviation biofuel partnerships outside the US with an announcement that it has joined with Honeywell's UOP and the Airports and Auxiliary Services agency (ASA), an arm of Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transport, to identify, research and further the development of a commercially viable market for sustainable aviation biofuels sourced in Mexico. The move comes a week or so after an agreement was reached with Abu Dhabi's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology on a study into the potential of halophytes and reports that Boeing was in talks with Chinese technology institutions concerning the research and development of aviation biofuels in the country. Read more ...
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Middle East carriers set to deploy SITA's emissions management software tool for EU ETS compliance
Tue 20 Oct 2009 – Air transport IT specialist SITA has announced that following exhaustive testing 12 Middle East airlines are to use its Aircraft Emissions Manager software tool from next month for the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions in compliance with EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) regulations. The deployment follows a decision by the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) in July to be the first to endorse the software, which SITA claims is the only tool of its kind to accurately measure carbon emissions and fuel burn in tonne-kilometres as per the EU requirements. SITA warns that miscalculations in data reporting can have serious financial consequences for airlines. Read more ...
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New aviation EU ETS company launches software system for handling CO2 monitoring and reporting
Mon 19 Oct 2009 - A new consultancy has opened its doors with the aim of addressing the requirements of aircraft operators entering the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Started by a former senior executive from the business aviation sector, ETS Aviation has developed a new software system called Aviation Footprinter to provide operators with a fast and efficient way of analyzing, presenting and reporting their annual emissions data in a format compliant with EU regulations. The company has announced its first customer for the software - Flightworx Aviation, which provides care and support services to business jet operators. ETS Aviation is keen to stress that it is targeting operators of all sizes, including airlines. Read more ...
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Japan marks joining the ASPIRE partnership with a trans-Pacific emissions reduction demonstration flight
Wed 14 Oct 2009 - Japan has become the first Asian country to join the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE), which is designed to make aircraft operations in the region more efficient in order to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement was signed in Osaka by the US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and Ryuhei Maeda, Director General of the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. The occasion was marked by an ASPIRE demonstration flight from Honolulu to Osaka undertaken by Japan Airlines. Japan joins the FAA, Airservices Australia and Airways New Zealand in the partnership that began in February 2008. Read more ...
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Qatar Airways undertakes first commercial passenger flight powered by a natural gas blended jet fuel
Tue 13 Oct 2009 - An Airbus A340-600 operated by Qatar Airways yesterday undertook a six-hour flight between London Gatwick and Doha powered by a jet fuel made from natural gas blended 50-50 with conventional petroleum-based kerosene. The synthetic Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) blended fuel, developed by Shell, is expected to be produced in commercial quantities of around one million tonnes per annum from 2012. The synthetic blended fuel was recently approved for safe commercial aviation use by ASTM International. Although there are no reductions in carbon emissions, the cleaner burning fuel emits lower sulphur dioxide and particulates, providing improved local air quality at airports. Read more ...
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ICAO High-Level Meeting fails in setting real targets to reduce net international aviation carbon emissions
Mon 12 Oct 2009 - Air transport representatives from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Contracting States have effectively given the green light to the international aviation industry to continue its net growth in CO2 emissions. This is the outcome of the High-Level Meeting (HLM) that ended on Friday in Montreal, called to review a Programme of Action on international aviation and climate change and provide recommendations to the COP 15 climate change summit in Copenhagen in December. The HLM managed a last-minute concession by some major developing States to extend the short term annual 2 percent fuel efficiency aspirational goal, previously agreed by ICAO's GIACC group, to an annual improvement target to 2020, with a similar aspirational goal from 2021 to 2050. Read more ...
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International Air Cargo Association attacks latest scientific study on aviation's climate impact
Sun 11 Oct 2009 - The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has challenged the findings of a recently published major study of aviation's CO2 and non-CO2 impact on climate change. According to TIACA, the authors of the study had increased aviation's previous contribution to climate change from 3 percent in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) to 3.5 percent without cirrus and 4.9 percent with cirrus, whereas the IPCC 1999 figure of 2 percent was more accurate, it believed. Professor David Lee, first author of the paper, called the criticism "confused and unhelpful". Read more ...
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Aviation industry sustainable fuel consortium commissions Masdar study on halophytes
Fri 9 Oct 2009 - Boeing is to join with Honeywell's UOP to commission a study on the renewable jet biofuel potential of a family of saltwater-based plants known as halophytes. The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi will lead the study, which will examine the overall potential for sustainable, large-scale production of biofuels made from salicornia bigelovii and saltwater mangroves. Yale University's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and UOP will also participate in the analysis, which will include an assessment of the total carbon lifecycle of biofuels. The study is being commissioned as part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group consortium. Read more ...
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Airline chief warns governments not to squander opportunity for a global sectoral solution for aviation
Thu 8 Oct 2009 - Ahead of the ICAO High Level Meeting in Montreal and the Copenhagen climate summit, airline leaders from the Asia-Pacific region meeting this week at the Greener Skies 2009 conference called for governments to back the industry's global sectoral approach towards tackling aviation emissions. Tony Tyler, CEO of Cathay Pacific and Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors, said it was vital not to squander this chance to integrate international aviation into a global, well-designed solution to the climate change challenge. Read more ...
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United Airlines chief calls for more investment in developing the alternative jet fuels market
Mon 5 Oct 2009 - Glenn Tilton, Chairman of both United Airlines and the Air Transport Association of America, called on government, investors and producers to seize the opportunity to provide the airline industry with alternative fuels. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels (CAAFI), he said the cash-strapped sector cannot provide the capital required but it was committed to supporting and seeking sustained funding for the development of aviation biofuels. He said airlines needed alternative jet fuels to help limit price volatility through competition with petroleum-based fuels, increase security of supply and reduce environmental impact. Read more ...
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European Commission further delays publication of aviation emissions cap for EU ETS
Fri 2 Oct 2009 - According to a Bloomberg report, the European Commission is to push back until next year publication of the aviation emissions cap which airlines and operators entering the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012 will be subject to. Under the Aviation EU ETS Directive, the Commission was required to issue details by August 2 of the cap, based on a three-year average of total emissions between 2004 and 2006. However, industry associations had expressed doubts about the accuracy of the data that was being examined and many, although not all, will feel that a postponement is the best outcome. The all-important cap will be used to determine the level of free allowances operators will receive and how many will have to be purchased. Read more ...
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High-level Meeting provides final opportunity for ICAO to deliver on a clear international climate policy
Tue 29 Sep 2009 - Delegates representing the 190 Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will next week convene in Montreal to decide on an agreed strategy to reduce international aviation emissions that can be presented at the Copenhagen climate summit in December. The stakes are high - an unsatisfactory outcome could result in the UN agency losing its mandate to adopt greenhouse gas reduction targets for the aviation industry. The initial signs are not hopeful as significant differences remain between the demands for cuts by the developed nations, particularly in Europe, and a less aggressive approach favoured by the developing States. However, the recent well-publicized proposals from the aviation industry itself have at least provided a stimulus for meaningful discussions. Read more ...
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Solazyme wins US Navy contract to provide world’s first 100 percent algal-based jet fuel
Mon 28 Sep 2009 - San Francisco-based Solazyme has been selected by the US Department of Defense to provide 1,500 gallons (5,700 litres) next year of what it claims is the world's first 100 percent algae-derived jet fuel for testing and certification by the US Navy. Earlier this month, the company was awarded a separate contract to provide research and development and delivery of over 20,000 gallons of renewable algae-derived F-76 Naval distillate fuel for use in US Navy ships. Last week, Sustainable Oils was handed a contract to supply the US Navy with 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet biofuel for certification testing, with an option to supply a further 150,000 gallons depending on results. Read more ...
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Major airports in east Asia sign a declaration to promote environmental best practices and improvements
Fri 25 Sep 2009 - Ten major airports from China, Japan and Korea that form the East Asia Airports Alliance (EAAA) have signed a 'Green Airport Declaration' in which they will adopt a number of measures to accelerate voluntary environmental improvements. The aim is to build up common strategies through information exchange between the members; disseminate information on best practices to all airport stakeholders, including airlines, concession operators, government agencies and communities in order to encourage environmentally regulated activities; setting up systematic approaches to heighten environmental awareness; and promote day-to-day environmental responsibility amongst staff. Read more ...
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Research findings imminent on the neurological damage allegedly caused by toxic effects of aircraft cabin air
Thu 24 Sep 2009 - Researchers in the UK and the US are getting closer in coming up with a definitive answer on the effects of toxic aircraft cabin air on pilots, crews and passengers. The condition, called Aerotoxic Syndrome, has been highlighted over many years but no firm evidence has yet been found to indicate a major problem exists and aircraft manufacturers have denied there is a link between reported neurological health problems and engine faults that could result in dangerous toxins being pumped into cockpits and cabins. Separate findings are due to be published by the University of Washington and Cranfield University within the next six months. Meanwhile, BAE Systems is to introduce a radical new aircraft cabin air management system that claims to eliminate all airborne viruses, bacteria and contaminants. Read more ...
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Environmentalists less than impressed with aviation industry commitment on reducing aircraft emissions
Wed 23 Sep 2009 - Yesterday's pledge by an airline delegation at a UN meeting in New York to commit to a reduction in industry CO2 emissions has received a frosty reception by environmental groups, who described it as bogus and little more than an elaborate conjuring trick. John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, said the announcement was designed to make the world believe that the airline industry is serious about climate change while carrying on with business as usual. The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) said the commitment to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2050, compared to 2005, had a "huge get-out" as it was not a pledge to cut actual emissions but instead relied on offsetting through emissions trading. Read more ...
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Airlines deliver proposals to the UN on behalf of the aviation industry to cut global aviation CO2 emissions
Tue 22 Sep 2009 - An IATA-led airline delegation is today presenting proposals for including aviation in a post-Kyoto framework to the UN Leadership Forum on Climate Change taking place in New York. The proposals, which are being presented on behalf of the aviation industry in general, are those agreed at the IATA Annual General Meeting in June. They include a commitment to short, medium and long term targets to 2050 on reducing aviation CO2 emissions. The delegation includes Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, and representatives from SAS Group, Air France-KLM and Qatar Airways. Read more ...
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US proposal to include aviation in cap-and-trade legislation would be counterproductive, warns IATA chief
Mon 21 Sep 2009 - The Obama Administration must work with the aviation industry to achieve a goal of carbon neutral growth by 2020, urged Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA, in a Washington speech last week. US contributions to aviation emissions reductions are critical, he said, but warned that proposals to include aviation within the cap-and-trade legislation currently before the US Senate would be counterproductive. Bisignani said accelerating the implementation of the NextGen air traffic management system and creating the fiscal and legal framework to support investment in sustainable biofuels were important steps requiring government support. Read more ...
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US Navy awards alternative sustainable jet fuel contract to camelina-based supplier Sustainable Oils
Mon 21 Sep 2009 - Montana-based Sustainable Oils is to supply the US Navy with 40,000 gallons (151,000 litres) of camelina-based jet fuel under a contract awarded by the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), with an option included to deliver up to an additional 150,000 gallons (570,000 litres). The fuel will undergo certification testing during the course of 2009 by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) fuels team at its Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, Maryland. In January, Sustainable Oils supplied camelina-based jet fuel for the Japan Airlines' demonstration flight. Read more ...
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Green take-offs at Copenhagen Airport have resulted in annual reductions of 32,000 tonnes of CO2
Mon 21 Sep 2009 - Whilst there has been considerable focus recently on continuous descent approaches, or 'green landings', every day there are hundreds of flights performing 'green take-offs' at Copenhagen Airport. The airport believes the environmental and cost benefits from green take-offs are higher than those for green landings. Aircraft climb continuously to their optimal operating level and turn onto the planned route earlier than normal. Data analysis by Eurocontrol has shown that employing this procedure has saved on an annual basis some 10,000 tonnes of fuel and cut CO2 emissions by nearly 32,000 tonnes. Read more ...
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Virgin Blue's carbon offset programme reaches its first one million seat milestone
Fri 18 Sep 2009 - Australia's Virgin Blue has honoured a Hobart resident who became the airline's one millionth seat sector passenger to offset the carbon emissions of their flight. The presentation was made by scientist and conservationist Professor Tim Flannery, who encouraged all air travellers to offset their flight emissions. Virgin Blue's carbon offset programme was launched in 2007, which the airline claims was the first in the world to be government backed, and is required to be certified under the Government’s Greenhouse Friendly initiative. Read more ...
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Commercial air traffic annual growth to continue at 4.7 percent over next 20 years, forecasts Airbus
Fri 18 Sep 2009 - According to aircraft manufacturer Airbus, global air passenger traffic is set to increase by over 150 percent over the next 20 years, representing an annual growth of 4.7 percent. The size of the world's passenger aircraft fleet will double in number from 14,016 in 2008 to 28,111. The fastest growing regions will be India, China and Africa, driven by deregulation, economic growth, population growth and inter-regional trade. Europe and North America, which combined made up around 59 percent of global revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) in 2008, will see their share of the global market decline to 46 percent by 2028, with Asia becoming the leading region with a third of the world's traffic. Read more ...
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Aviation growth must be constrained and emissions capped, says UK Government's climate change adviser
Wed 9 Sep 2009 - The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has advised the UK Government ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks that global aviation emissions should be capped as part of a wider global agreement. The CCC said that developed countries will need to take the lead in making significant reductions in cutting aviation emissions, ensuring that these are no higher - and possibly lower - than 2005 levels in the period to 2050. If left unchecked, the CCC said global aviation emissions could account for 15-20% of all CO2 produced in 2050 and a "new and ambitious" aviation policy was required. Read more ...
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With just days to go before the first Aviation EU ETS deadline, airlines face a patchwork of extensions
Fri 28 Aug 2009 - With the 31 August deadline just days away for aircraft operators to submit emissions monitoring plans in advance of the start of the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), a patchwork of deadline extensions is emerging from the Competent Authorities (CAs) appointed by EU states to administer operators. The official EU deadline comes barely a week after its formal publication of the list of operators who could be eligible to join the scheme. So far, extensions have been granted by Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. However, concerns have been expressed that carriers could lose their free allowance allocation if they do not comply with the 31 August deadline, regardless of any extension. Read more ...
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Major scientific progress on understanding aviation’s climate change impact, although uncertainties remain
Fri 28 Aug 2009 - Despite considerable advances in understanding the impact of aviation on climate change, significant uncertainties remain in determining the full non-CO2 effects of aircraft emissions. This is the main conclusion of a major scientific assessment report ‘Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Aviation’ just published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. This is the first comprehensive international assessment update on the subject since the groundbreaking Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published in 1999. The new report rejects the use of an emissions 'multiplier', or index, first introduced in the IPCC report, as a suitable metric for measuring the total impact of aviation emissions on climate. Read more ...
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Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport lands multi-million emissions reduction grants from FAA
Thu 27 Aug 2009 - The City of Houston Department of Aviation has received $8.8 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to install new state-of-the-art equipment at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) that is expected to reduce ground emissions by up to 60 percent. The two grants awarded through the FAA's Airport Improvement Program (AIP) will allow the purchase and installation of new solar panels, heaters and chillers in the airport's central operating plant, which controls the air conditioning and heating in all five airport terminals. These upgrades will replace an outdated gas-powered steam generation system. Read more ...
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US Navy sends out request for 40,000 gallons of jet biofuel for ground and aircraft flight testing
Wed 26 Aug 2009 - The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) fuels team has asked for 40,000 gallons of JP-5 jet fuel from bio-based feedstocks in a request for proposal (RFP) issued by the Defense Energy Support Center. The NAVAIR team will first conduct laboratory and rig tests at its Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, Maryland. This will be followed by static engine tests on an F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft's General Electric F414 engine at the engine manufacturer's facility in Lynn, Mass. The team is looking to conduct flight tests by next spring or summer. The biofuel will be mixed in a 50/50 blend with conventional petroleum-derived naval-specification JP-5 jet fuel. Read more ...
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Bob Hope, Reno-Stead, Dallas/Fort Worth and Toronto airports win environmental achievement awards
Tue 25 Aug 2009 - Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) has selected Burbank's Bob Hope Airport, Reno-Stead Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport as the four winners of its 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards. The four award categories covered environmental management; outreach, education and community involvement; mitigation; and a newly-added award for special/innovative projects. Now in their 12th year, the awards have been the springboard for numerous environmental programmes at airports, says ACI-NA. Read more ...
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Southwest Airlines’ green power renewable energy purchase receives recognition from EPA
Tue 25 Aug 2009 - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally recognized Southwest Airlines' Dallas and Houston operations for its leading green power purchase and for its support and participation in the EPA's Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge. The two facilities are purchasing nearly 16 million kilowatt-hours of green power, enough to meet 30 percent of their purchased electricity use, and are buying renewable energy certificates from Reliant Energy. EPA's voluntary Green Power Partnership currently has more than 1,100 US Partner organizations purchasing billions of green power annually. Read more ...
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Japan Airlines wins World Savers Award in airline category by Condé Nast Traveler magazine
Mon 24 Aug 2009 - Japan Airlines (JAL) has won the best airline category in Conde Nast Traveler World Saver Awards. The awards honour travel companies from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility in five key areas: poverty alleviation, cultural and/or environmental preservation, education, wildlife conservation and health. JAL was the overall winner in the newly created airline category, ahead of Air New Zealand in second place and Costa Rican carrier Nature Air in third. The international panel of 21 judges included academics, travel industry leaders, philanthropists and environmentalists. Read more ...
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SAS and Avinor undertake green approach testing at one of Norway's most demanding airports
Fri 21 Aug 2009 - SAS and Norwegian airport operator and air navigation service provider Avinor have carried out a green approach landing test at topographically challenging Tromso Airport, which reduced emissions by 300kg of CO2 compared to a normal flight. Although many such landings by SAS aircraft have taken place in Sweden, the procedure was the first of its kind with this level of navigational accuracy, said Avinor. The Boeing 737NG SAS aircraft, with experts from Avinor and the Norwegian CAA on board, took off from Tromso Airport on August 11 at 00.30 and landed an hour later after carrying out a series of optimal approaches using satellite systems. Read more ...
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Newquay Airport claims UK first with carbon offsetting scheme covering all terminal and airfield operations
Fri 21 Aug 2009 - Newquay Cornwall Airport, located in England's far southwest, says it is the first in the UK to introduce a carbon offsetting scheme that will cover all terminal and airfield operations. A new fund is being set up which will receive an annual payment from the airport that will enable it to achieve carbon-neutral status, five years ahead of a commitment made in its Masterplan published in June this year. The airport, owned by Cornwall Council, has entered into an agreement with the Eden Project, a well-known Cornish eco attraction in which plant species from around the world are grown in giant greenhouses, or biomes. Read more ...
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Denver International plans construction of a solar energy project to provide power for fuel farm
Thu 20 Aug 2009 - Denver International Airport (DIA) is to seek approval from its city council to construct a photovoltaic solar electricity-generating system that would power the airport's fuel storage and distribution facility. The airport plans to enter into an agreement with MP2 Capital and Oak Leaf Energy Partners to develop the $7 million, 1.6-megawatt solar project on a nine-acre (3.6ha) site north of the airport's airfield. The new solar system is scheduled for completion by the end of this year and once operational, is expected to provide nearly all of the fuel farm's electricity consumption. Read more ...
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Frankfurt Airport starts testing of new Mitsubishi electric cars as it drives into an 'electromobile' future
Thu 20 Aug 2009 - Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, has taken delivery of two Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars, the first electric vehicle likely to be mass produced in Europe and the first of their type to undergo major road testing in Germany. Fraport plans to increase the share of electric vehicles in its fleet to more than 20 percent by 2015 and to 60 percent by 2020. At the same time, a network of easily-accessible quick-charging stations for electric cars will be developed around the airport. Fraport alone operates a fleet of about 3,000 motorized vehicles. Read more ...
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Eight US airlines sign agreement to use renewable synthetic diesel fuel in ground vehicles at LAX
Tue 18 Aug 2009 - The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has announced a deal in which eight of its leading airline members will purchase up to 1.5 million gallons of renewable synthetic diesel fuel for use in ground service equipment and vehicles at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) beginning in late 2012. The agreement was signed with synthetic fuel specialist Rentech and Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG), a global provider to airlines and airports of ground, fuel, cargo and airport facility services. The renewable fuel, called RenDiesel, will be produced at the commercial-scale facility that Rentech is developing in Rialto, California, primarily from woody green waste such as grass clippings. Read more ...
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Thai Airways becomes first Asia-Pacific airline to join IATA passenger carbon offset programme
Mon 17 Aug 2009 - Thai Airways International has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to provide its passengers with the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions of their flight. It becomes the first airline in the Asia-Pacific region to join the programme, which was launched in June with two other airlines, TAP Portugal and Qatar Airways, already having signed up. The IATA-administered industry-wide scheme is a ready-made tool enabling airlines to offer their passengers the ability to contribute towards carbon reduction projects in developing countries when making their flight reservations. Read more ...
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Nearly 4,000 aircraft operators could potentially be included in the EU ETS, according to revised EC list
Thu 13 Aug 2009 - The European Commission has published its delayed list of aircraft operators to be included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) from 2012. It now lists nearly 4,000 worldwide operators compared to the 2,755 that appeared on the original list published in February. France has seen the number of operators it was due to administer more than double, mainly due to the addition of 462 operators known only by their ICAO code or tail number but who are believed to be operators from French overseas territories. With less than three weeks before the August 31 deadline for the submission of emissions plans by many operators, Competent Authorities (CAs) are facing a major administrative challenge during the summer holiday season. Some CAs have just announced postponements to the deadline. Read more ...
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Synthetic jet fuel blends receive final stamp of approval and pave the way for jet biofuel certification
Thu 13 Aug 2009 - The ASTM International Committee on Petroleum Products and Lubricants has formally adopted a new specification that will enable the use of synthetic fuels in commercial aviation. The specification, which had been provisionally called DXXXX, has a new number, D7566, and will sit alongside the current D1655 conventional jet fuel standard. Initially, D7566 only specifies up to 50/50 blends of synthetic fuel produced from the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, although this includes FT fuels made from renewable biomass-to-liquid (BTL) sources. However, the specification is to be structured, via annexes, to accommodate different classes of alternative fuels and approval for bio-synthetic paraffinic kerosene (Bio-SPK) is anticipated before the end of next year. Read more ...
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Leisure operator TUI Travel commits to six percent carbon reduction target of its airline fleet over six years
Mon 10 Aug 2009 - Europe's largest leisure travel company TUI Travel aims to reduce the carbon emissions from its fleet of 150 aircraft by 6 percent by 2013/14 against a baseline of 2007/8. TUI Travel says its airlines' fleet average emissions in 2007/8 of 77.9g of CO2 per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) compares "very favourably" to both scheduled and low-cost airlines. Its own analysis of other airline data in the public domain shows that leading global scheduled airlines have a range of emissions from 98-133g CO2/RPK and low-cost airlines in the UK and Ireland perform at around 88-96g CO2/RPK. Read more ...
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EIA forecast suggests Clean Energy and Security Act could add over $5 billion to US jet fuel costs in 2020
Fri 7 Aug 2009 - The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) this week released a report that looks at the potential economic impact of the American Clean Energy and Security Act 2009 (ACESA), the so-called Waxman-Markey bill. It forecasts that the proposed cap-and-trade system could lead to an increase in the price of jet fuel of 26 cents per gallon in 2020, rising to 47 cents per gallon in 2030. Based on a 2007 pre-recession total fuel consumption by US carriers of 19.886 billion gallons, this equates to an added $5.17 billion on the annual bill in 2020 and $9.35 billion in 2030. Read more ...
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UK Government publishes draft Aviation EU ETS regulations and extends benchmarking deadline to year end
Wed 5 Aug 2009 - To provide early sight of the requirements of aircraft operators under UK administration covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the UK's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has published the final draft of its first stage regulations. However, at this stage the regulations remain "for information only" as the UK says it is unable to lay them before Parliament until the European Commission publishes its revised list of aircraft operators who will be expected to join the scheme along with their administering state. Meanwhile, Germany has followed the UK's lead in postponing the August 31 deadline for operators to submit their monitoring plan, although other EU states say they will continue to respect the original date. Read more ...
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NASA issues a $1.5 million green aircraft challenge to designers in flight efficiency competition
Wed 5 Aug 2009 - The NASA Innovative Partnerships Program and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation have announced the Green Flight Challenge. The contest is a flight efficiency competition for aircraft that can average at least 100mph on a 200-mile flight while achieving greater than 200 passenger miles per gallon. Carrying a prize of $1.5 million for the aircraft with the best performance, the competition is scheduled to take place in July 2011 at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, California. A $150,000 prize for best score by a biofuelled aircraft is also offered. Read more ...
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Ten years of environmental management pays off for Lufthansa CityLine with renewal of eco certification
Wed 5 Aug 2009 - Lufthansa CityLine, the regional subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa, has obtained for the third year in a row a renewed certification of the European EMAS eco-audit regulations. In addition, it has been re-certified for compliance with the international ISO 14001 environmental standard. Both certificates apply to the three CityLine locations at Cologne, Munich and Hamburg. It was the first airline to receive both certificates and remains only one of two carriers worldwide to satisfy the requirements of both standards. Read more ...
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Japan Airlines and AirTran in a thirst for first as they launch wine and water PET recycling projects
Tue 4 Aug 2009 - Japan Airlines and US low-cost airline AirTran Airways are to serve passengers with drinks supplied in recyclable PET plastic bottles. JAL becomes the first Asian carrier to serve wine in PET bottles onboard its economy class cabin on a flight from Tokyo to London this week and will be gradually introduced on all international routes. The introduction coincides with the inauguration of a second JAL Eco Jet, a Boeing 777-300ER, which will fly today from Tokyo to Singapore. AirTran will become the first North American carrier to make available, at a cost of $2 each, bottles of Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water, the world’s first CarbonNeutral-certified bottled spring water. Read more ...
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Industry and academia to collaborate on new UK aero engine emissions reduction research programme
Fri 31 July 2009 - A research and development programme, backed by investment totalling £40 million ($66m), has been launched in the UK to accelerate the development and introduction of low carbon aircraft engine technology. The programme, to be led by Rolls-Royce, will be delivered by the Technology Strategy Board, the non-departmental government body that supports UK business in the development of innovative technology, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It aims to ensure the UK aero engine industry remains competitive as it strives to meet the ACARE 2020 targets on CO2, NOx and noise emission reductions from new aircraft and engines. Read more ...
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EERC awarded subcontract by SAIC to help produce military renewable jet fuel from algae
Fri 31 July 2009 - The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota has been awarded a subcontract by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to help produce military JP-8 jet fuel from algae. Funding for the work is coming from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is seeking to develop the technical capability and ultimately commercialize the affordable production of military JP-8 surrogate fuel from algal feedstocks. Last week, renewable JP-8 fuel developed and produced by EERC successfully powered a rocket test flight. Read more ...
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Leading Middle East carriers step up their responsibilities towards environmental sustainability
Wed 29 July 2009 - Qatar Airways has been elected as a member of the International Air Transport Association's Environment Committee (ENCOM), which advises the relevant IATA bodies on environmental matters and acts a focal point for other IATA airline members. Qatar says its appointment is an acknowledgement of the airline's achievements and contribution towards environmental sustainability. Bahrain's national carrier, Gulf Air, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the country's environment agency on a range of environmental practice initiatives to be carried out by the airline. Read more ...
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New report suggests the airline sector will have to pay over one billion euros in 2012 to join the EU ETS
Tue 28 July 2009 - The aviation sector could possibly face a shortfall of 77 million tonnes of CO2 when it enters the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2012, estimates a report to be published this week by RDC Aviation and Point Carbon. At the current spot price of 14.40 euros per tonne of CO2, the cost of having to purchase the necessary credits is therefore likely to be in the region of 1.1 billion euros ($1.56bn). The airlines facing the largest shortfalls are British Airways and the US carriers, particularly Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The two largest European low-cost carriers, Ryanair and easyJet, could also face heavy shortfalls. Read more ...
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Consultation on EU ETS auction regulations suggests low market liquidity for aviation emission allowances
Fri 24 July 2009 - A European Commission consultation on future EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) auctioning rules, which will have major implications for aircraft operators joining the scheme from 2012, has just one week to run. An EU Regulation must be adopted by 30 June 2010 on timing, administration and other aspects of auctioning within the EU ETS. The consultation, which is being carried out by ICF International, has a section devoted to the auctioning of EU Aviation Allowances (EUAAs). It calculates that some 210 million EUAAs per year will be issued, based on an estimated average 2004-2006 emissions cap, with around 30 million EUAAs to be auctioned. The consultation warns that because there will be a relative scarcity of EUAAs, the liquidity of this secondary market may be lower than for EUAs. Read more ...
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WWF launch campaign to persuade businesses to cut the number of their flights by a fifth over five years
Fri 24 July 2009 - Environmental NGO WWF has launched its 'One in Five Challenge' to encourage businesses to seek greener alternatives to flying, such as train travel and video conferencing. A guided programme aims to help businesses cut 20 percent of their flights by 2014. WWF has already enrolled major UK organizations such as Marks & Spencer, Premiere Global, Vodafone UK, Capgemini and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Read more ...
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Use of jet biofuels by airlines should be mandated in the EU from 2020, says UK think tank report
Thu 23 July 2009 - A new report, entitled 'Greener skies thinking', by the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange recommends that in order to meet 2050 emissions targets there must be a wide-scale deployment of sustainable bio-jet fuels. It calls for the setting of achievable and enforceable targets for replacing standard kerosene jet fuel with bio-jet fuel from 2020 through the implementation of an EU-wide Sustainable Bio-jet Fuel Blending Mandate. The mandate would see the proportion of bio-derived blended jet fuel rise from 20 percent in 2020 to 80 percent in 2050. Aviation is currently excluded from the EU Renewable Energy Directive on biofuels. Read more ...
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Air France-KLM continues to roll out environmental initiatives, says annual sustainable development report
Tue 21 July 2009 - According to its fifth annual sustainable development report just published, Air France-KLM says that despite the economic crisis, the group is continuing to pursue initiatives, including fleet renewal, to cut CO2 emissions in order to minimize its impact on climate change. Over the past year it made great efforts to reduce fuel consumption, it says, driven both by rocketing fuel consumption and concerns over the environment. Air France's fuel consumption in 2008 was 3.9 litres per 100 passenger-km, slightly better than the previous year and made savings of 146,000 tonnes of CO2 in the period April 2008 to March 2009. Air France-KLM has won the Environment category in Airline Business magazine's recent Airline Strategy Awards. Read more ...
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FAA claims technology has dramatically reduced the number of people exposed to high noise levels around US airports
Tue 21 July 2009 - The number of people affected by aircraft noise has fallen from about 7 million in the late 1970s to around 500,000 today, claims the US Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Environment, Noise Division, which tracks the agency's progress on noise reduction targets. However, the FAA warns the impact of noise will start to increase again soon and continue climbing as a result of continuing growth in air traffic unless there are advances developed through the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Meanwhile, Los Angeles World Airports has just launched a new online flight tracking and aircraft noise complaint system at its three airports. Read more ...
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The application of drug trials methodology points the way to understanding aviation and climate change
Tue 21 July 2009 - Academics from the UK's University of Southampton have undertaken a major review of the impact of aviation on climate change by uniquely applying systematic review methodology for drug appraisals to the subject. The study, a collaboration between the university's Schools of Engineering Sciences and Medicine, has just been awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal for 2009. By adapting replicable and transparent methods from the field of evidence-based medicine, the authors have calculated from existing data the lower and upper bounds for estimates of the effect of aviation on climate change in an objective manner. Read more ...
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Sweden begins wide-scale green approach testing as Spain starts a similar summer programme of its own
Mon 20 July 2009 - LFV and SAS have today started a week of wide-scale testing of continuous descent approaches (CDAs), or green approaches, throughout Sweden. The technique - which involves an aircraft descending continuously to the airport using almost no engine thrust thus reducing fuel consumption, emissions and noise - was first implemented on a small scale at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in 2006 and has since been refined and developed. The Spanish testing brings together Iberia Airlines, airport and ATC authority AENA and the Ineco transport engineering firm and will determine the environmental benefits of CDAs around airports. Read more ...
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Finnair launches online tool for business travellers to produce their own environmental reports
Mon 20 July 2009 - Finnair has added a service for companies to produce their own environmental reporting for their travel. The 'Eco-Report' tool on its Feel Finnair site enables comparison of the environmental impact of flight routes via different transit airports. Using the tool, emissions can be reported for internal and external stakeholder information purposes. The airline is promoting its hub in Helsinki as offering the most direct and environmentally-friendly routes between Europe and Asia, claiming connections via the northerly location can be as much as almost a fifth shorter than the same trip taken through other European connecting hubs. Read more ...
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Aviation industry sustainable fuels group adds five new airline members and announces halophytes research
Tue 14 July 2009 - The airline-led Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group has announced five new members – Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, TUIfly and Virgin Blue. Current members include Air France, Air New Zealand, ANA, Cargolux, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic. Boeing, which plays a leading role in the group, and refining technology developer Honeywell's UOP are associate members. The group lays down a strict sustainability criteria for the development of plant sources for jet biofuels. The group said it will launch a sustainability assessment of halophytes as a possible biofuel source later in the year. Read more ...
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UK decision to push back emissions reporting deadline leaves aviation EU ETS implementation in confusion
Mon 13 July 2009 - The UK has blamed Brussels for its failure transpose the EU directive on the aviation ETS into national legislation in time to comply with the August 31 deadline by which operators were required to submit emissions monitoring and benchmarking plans. A government statement said there first needed to be a "firm and agreed" list of operators to be regulated by each EU member state. As this list was not now expected to be published by the Commission until later this month, the UK government says it is legally unable to lay the first stage of regulations transposing the directive. Operators will now be required to submit their plans within 11 weeks after the regulations are laid before Parliament, which could move the deadline to late October. Other EU States have no plans, so far, to follow the UK's decision but few appear able to transpose the directive before the end of August. Read more ...
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Alaska Airlines carries out next-generation approach procedures at Seattle in Greener Skies initiative
Fri 10 July 2009 - Alaska Airlines has begun testing of Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach procedures at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The carrier estimates the satellite-based descent procedures will cut fuel consumption by 2.1 million gallons annually, reduce carbon emissions by 22,000 tonnes and reduce overflight noise exposure for an estimated 750,000 people living within the affected Puget Sound flight corridor. Planning and testing will continue through the remainder of the year and the airline is hopeful of FAA approval for the procedures in 2010, which could then be used by all properly equipped carriers serving the airport. Read more ...
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NASA teams with Seambiotic on R&D programme to optimize algae growth for aviation fuel development
Fri 10 July - NASA Glenn Research Center and the US subsidiary of Israel-based Seambiotic have signed an agreement to develop a research and development programme to optimize open-pond microalgae growth processes. The partners will work together to improve production processes and to study and qualify algae oil from alternative species and production processes as candidate aviation fuel at NASA's test facilities. NASA's Ames Research Center is investigating the potential of algae as an aviation biofuel and is growing algae in plastic bags of sewage floating in the ocean Read more ...
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G8 leaders support a post-2012 sectoral approach for international aviation to accelerate emissions reductions
Fri 10 July 2009 - World leaders meeting at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, have called for attention to be devoted to sectors such as international aviation and shipping as they represent a "significant and growing" source of emissions. In a declaration issued at the summit the leaders affirmed they would use their participation in the UN agencies ICAO, IMO and UNFCCC "to reach an agreed outcome for the post-2012 period to rapidly advance towards accelerated emission reductions for the international aviation and maritime sectors." The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the declaration and said the G8 target to reduce global emissions by 50 percent by 2050 was aligned with the aviation industry's own goals. Read more ...
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UPS Airlines sets a new reduction goal to cut carbon emissions by an additional 20 percent by 2020
Thu 9 July 2009 - Global freight and package delivery company UPS has announced it is intending to cut the carbon emissions of its airline by an additional 20 percent by 2020, representing a cumulative reduction of 42 percent across its fleet since 1990. UPS Airlines - which operates 282 aircraft, making it the ninth largest fleet in the world - claims to have the most fuel-efficient aircraft in the package airline sector. The carrier says in its latest Sustainability Report that its efficiency factor in 2008 was 1.42 CO2 lbs per available ton nautical mile and is now targeting a factor of 1.24 by 2020. As airline emissions make up 53 percent of the total UPS global carbon inventory, the company says the decision is critical to its overall environmental performance. Read more ...
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UK Prime Minister calls for international aviation to contribute towards a $100 billion global climate fund
Mon 6 July 2009 - UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for international aviation and maritime emissions to be included in the Copenhagen climate change talks in December. He has also proposed that a $100 billion fund for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries be created by 2020 to which the two industries should financially contribute. Brown was speaking at the launch of a government manifesto, The Road to Copenhagen, which spells out the aims and ambitions the UK has for a global climate change agreement. Read more ...
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Cathay Pacific and Dragonair purchase 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions for offset programme
Mon 6 July 2009 - Cathay Pacific Airways and sister airline Dragonair have purchased 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions from offset retailer JP Morgan ClimateCare for the two airlines' FLY greener offset programme. The offsets will be resold on a no-profit basis through the programme to passengers wishing to offset their carbon emissions. Up till March this year, a total of 30,000 tonnes of CO2 have been offset by passengers since the programme was launched in 2007. During 2008, travelling airline staff offset 11,814 tonnes of CO2 at a cost of around HK$900,000 ($116,000). Read more ...
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Arab carriers to adopt SITA's new carbon emissions measuring software tool for compliance with EU ETS
Fri 3 July 2009 - A new Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) software tool developed by air transport IT specialist SITA which measures carbon emissions so that aircraft operators can comply with the requirements of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has received the backing of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO). AACO recommends its airline members adopt SITA Aircraft Emissions Manager when it becomes commercially available in October. All carriers flying to, from and within Europe must submit plans for monitoring and reporting their CO2 emissions by August 31 in advance of a 2010 pre-compliance phase for the EU ETS, which will include aviation from 2012. Read more ...
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Australia set to become first country to establish a nationwide network of green flight paths
Thu 2 July 2009 - Airservices Australia and Naverus of the US have signed an agreement that will provide Australia with the world's first national network of green flight paths that could reduce annual carbon emissions by 122 million tonnes of CO2 when completed. In the ground-breaking move, the Australian air traffic control management organization and the global Performance-based Navigation (PBN) solutions provider will develop Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures (a form of PBN) for arrival and departure flight paths at up to 28 major airports around Australia over the next five years. Read more ...
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Alternative fuels move nearer to full commercial aviation use as an important specification hurdle is cleared
Fri 26 Jun 2009 - A new aviation fuel specification, provisionally labelled DXXXX, has been passed by the ASTM International Aviation Fuels subcommittee that will enable the use of synthetic fuels in aviation. This new specification constructs a framework to facilitate the use of multiple alternative fuels (including both non-renewable and renewable blends), and targets complete interchangeability with conventional fuels produced to the standard aviation jet fuel specification D1655. The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) described the step, which is anticipated to receive full ASTM approval later this year, as a "watershed event". Read more ...
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Research study shows that biofuel blends used in demonstration flights performed as effectively as jet fuel
Fri 19 Jun 2009 - Boeing and its industry partners involved in the three recent biofuel demonstration flights have released the high-level elements of a study, 'Evaluation of Bio-Derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK)', in which analysis shows that the sustainable biofuels used in the flights performed favourably in comparison to petroleum-based fuels. The Bio-SPK - the industry's new terminology - fuel blends demonstrated higher energy density per unit mass than typical jet fuel, potentially enabling airplanes to travel further using less fuel. The blended fuel on the Air New Zealand, Continental Airlines and Japan Airlines flights displayed no adverse effects on any of the aircraft systems. Read more ...
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Australian university team picks up first prize in Airbus Fly Your Ideas environment competition
Fri 19 Jun 2009 - The University of Queensland 'COz' team has won the inaugural Airbus Fly Your Ideas challenge final held during the Paris Air Show. The team was awarded the 30,000 euro first prize for its project into the use of the castor plant to develop the first-ever single plant-based high performance composite materials for aircraft cabin components. The goal of the project was to reduce dependency on non-renewable sources and improve end-of-life disposal, thus contributing to a reduction of aviation's carbon footprint. The team conducted a comprehensive feasibility analysis entailing fibre production and testing, demonstrating encouraging mechanical and environmental properties. Read more ...
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Continental Airlines reports that the biofuel blend on its test flight performed better than traditional jet fuel
Thu 18 Jun 2009 - Continental Airlines has announced that the results from its demonstration flight in January show the biofuel blend performed as well as, if not better than traditional jet fuel. The airline reports a 1.1 percent increase in fuel efficiency in different stages of the flight. Overall life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the biofuel blend of algae and jatropha oils used on the flight are estimated to have been reduced by between 60 and 80 percent compared to standard jet fuel. Read more ...
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GIACC proposals are an important step towards a global agreement on aviation emissions, says top EU official
Thu 18 Jun 2009 - The European Commission's Director of Air Transport, Daniel Calleja, has said he did not agree with those who believed ICAO had failed to deliver on an action plan to reduce international aviation emissions. He said that although there were difficulties reconciling the positions of developing countries with those in the developed world, the recent report by ICAO's Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) had come up with a workable framework on which ICAO should be given a mandate post-Copenhagen to develop a global agreement. The incoming Secretary General of ICAO, Raymond Benjamin, said that GIACC's report proposals would help meet the challenge of reducing aviation emissions but fuel efficiency goals were not enough and emissions must stop growing. Read more ...
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Stavanger Airport to build bio-energy power plant to supply terminals with climate neutral heating
Thu 18 Jun 2009 - Fast-growing Stavanger Airport Sola, in Norway is to build a new power plant that will supply climate neutral heating to the buildings, including the passenger and helicopter terminals, and also to a new hotel under construction. The 4GWh power plant will use wood chippings sourced from local forest areas and help the airport reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 2,000 tonnes. Avinor, the operator of Stavanger Airport, has announced that three other Norwegian airports - Oslo, Trondheim and Alesund - have applied to join ACI EUROPE's new Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme. Read more ...
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European airports launch carbon accreditation scheme in a commitment to reduce carbon emissions
Wed 17 Jun 2009 - A programme to assess and recognize efforts by airports to reduce CO2 emissions within their direct control was launched yesterday at the ACI EUROPE Annual Congress in Manchester. Accounting for 26 percent of the passenger traffic handled in Europe, a total of 31 airports have applied to join Airport Carbon Accreditation. The programme, which has been devised by international consultancy WSP Environmental, comprises four rising levels of accreditation: Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality. It is hoped the step-by-step process will encourage airports to reduce their carbon emissions with the ultimate goal of carbon neutral operations. Read more ...
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Lufthansa's average fuel burn per passenger kilometre shows marginal increase during 2008
Mon 15 Jun 2009 - According to the 2009 edition of Lufthansa's annual sustainability report 'Balance', the airline group's average fuel consumption per passenger rose from 4.32 litres per 100 passenger kilometres in 2007 to 4.34 in 2008. Overall fuel consumption rose from 6.78 million tonnes in 2007 to 7.67 million tonnes in 2008 (+13.1 percent). Lufthansa attributes the worsening fuel efficiency to the loss of two charter and tourism operators, Condor and Thomas Cook, from the group that had high seat-load factors and therefore high levels of fuel efficiency. However, between 1991 and 2008, Lufthansa managed to reduce specific fuel consumption and emissions of its passenger fleet by 30 percent, although the goal had been 33 percent. Read more ...
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Australia calls for UNFCCC to sidestep ICAO and set emissions reduction targets for international aviation
Fri 12 Jun 2009 - Australia has become the first country to formally propose that international aviation and shipping emissions be controlled under a global sectoral agreement by the UNFCCC rather than its sister UN agencies ICAO and IMO. The call was made yesterday during UNFCCC climate talks taking place in Bonn. Both ICAO and IMO have been criticized for failing to agree on a mechanism to deal with international aviation and maritime greenhouse gas emissions since being tasked to do so back in 1997. Last week, the group appointed by ICAO to come up with an action plan recommended non-binding, aspirational fuel efficiency goals. Read more ...
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Industry body ATAG publishes guide to explain benefits of moving to new, cleaner sources of aviation biofuels
Fri 12 Jun 2009 - The Geneva-based Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) has launched a new publication, 'The Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels', to inform industry employees and the public about sustainable aviation biofuels, which it believes will be in operational use on commercial flights within three to five years. It examines the key safety and technical criteria and testing process currently underway, while also looking at the challenges that remain if the industry is to maximize the potential of biofuels. A poll conducted by ATAG found that almost half of those surveyed did not know the difference between first and second generation biofuel supplies. Read more ...
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American Airlines conducts first US demonstration flight under transatlantic emissions reduction initiative
Fri 12 June 2009 - American Airlines yesterday became the first US carrier to test next-generation technology and procedures designed to provide significant reductions in fuel use and carbon emissions under the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE). The testing was conducted during a normal scheduled flight from Paris to Miami using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft. AIRE is the first large-scale environmental initiative bringing together aviation players from both sides of the Atlantic, with partners including the FAA, the European Commission, Boeing, Airbus, various air navigation service providers and a number of airlines. Read more ...
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New IATA Chairman says an industry response to climate change will be his main priority during coming year
Fri 12 Jun 2009 - The new Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors, Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler, said at the association's Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur that the most important task facing the IATA management over the next 12 months was to deliver "a workable and sensible" approach to aircraft emissions. IATA's Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, told journalists that the cost to the industry of complying with the carbon-neutral growth target announced during the AGM would run into billions of dollars. During the AGM, British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh said IATA must take the initiative over climate change negotiations as ICAO had not done enough. Read more ...
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Future technology improvements will help reduce aviation emissions but not by enough, finds US GAO report
Wed 10 Jun 2009 - Following a congressional request, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has produced a 100-page report, 'Aviation and Climate Change'. It finds that even if many of the proposed low-carbon technologies were to be adopted by the aviation industry, it appears unlikely they would greatly reduce emissions by 2050, given the expected growth of commercial aviation as forecasted by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A number of policy options to address aircraft emissions are available to governments, including market-based measures such as cap-and-trade which, GAO believes, can be preferable as they would generally be more economically efficient. Read more ...
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Airline group presents UN climate negotiators with aviation emission reduction scenarios and targets
Tue 9 Jun 2009 - The Aviation Global Deal (AGD) Group is today hosting a side event at the UN negotiating sessions in Bonn to present its updated vision of how international aviation emissions should be dealt with under a new post-2012 global deal on climate change. The Group will set out a range of three emission reduction scenarios and targets for UN negotiators to consider in the medium-term period to 2020, together with a long-term target to reduce net CO2 emissions by between 50 and 80 percent by 2050 compared to 2005. It proposes a sectoral approach with a global emissions trading scheme administered by a UN body in which revenues from the auctioning of allowances are hypothecated for climate change initiatives in developing countries. Meanwhile, a seventh airline, Virgin Blue, has now joined the Group. Read more ...
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IATA commits airline industry to achieving carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and halve emissions by 2050
Mon 8 Jun 2009 - IATA has delivered on a previous commitment to carbon neutrality by setting 2020 as the date by which the airline industry must achieve carbon-neutral growth. It acknowledges that economic measures such as emissions trading will be necessary to bridge the gap between a predicted global annual growth in passenger traffic, which has been increasing at around five percent on average this decade, and fuel efficiency gains of around two percent a year. Meanwhile, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has said it was disappointed that ICAO's GIACC was unable to agree on economic measures and urged governments to redouble efforts towards reaching a global solution. Read more ...
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TAP Portugal becomes launch airline for IATA's industry-led carbon offset programme
Mon 8 Jun 2009 - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has formally launched its global carbon offset programme with Portuguese carrier TAP. The IATA-administered, industry-wide scheme is a ready-made tool enabling airlines to offer their passengers the ability to offset their carbon emissions. The programme will only invest monies in UN-approved Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) projects and voluntary credits which comply with the recognized Gold and/or Voluntary Carbon Standards. Qatar Airways announced last month it was also joining the programme and IATA hopes to have around 14 airlines signed up by year end. Read more ...
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Japan Airlines extends its User Preferred Route fuel and emission saving trials on flights to Australia
Fri 5 Jun 2009 - Japan Airlines (JAL) has just started trialling the use of User Preferred Route (UPR) on flights between Tokyo Narita and Brisbane, as well as Sydney. The procedure sets a unique and optimal flight path for each aircraft to fly what it judges to be the most efficient route so shortening flight times and reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Since last month, JAL has begun using Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) procedures for flights landing late at night and early in the morning at Osaka's Kansai International. Read more ...
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Economic crisis will not divert us from a commitment to environmental protection, say Europe's major airlines
Fri 5 Jun 2009 - Speaking last week at its Presidents' Spring Assembly, Dr Ivan Misetic, President and CEO of Croatia Airlines and current Chairman of the Association of European Airlines (AEA), said that even though the "unprecedented" economic downturn was having severe repercussions on the airline industry, the AEA was committed to the key objective of seeking a global solution on environmental protection. Although airlines were supportive of the European Commission's drive on the debate, he said Europe should not be satisfied with a regional emissions trading scheme. Read more ...
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Fuel efficiency aspirational goals form the main achievement of the GIACC process to address climate change
Thu 4 Jun 2009 - The Group on International Aviation Climate Change (GIACC) set up by ICAO to develop a global action plan to curb international aviation emissions concluded its task last week with its fourth and final meeting in Montreal. The outcome, according to ICAO, is an "aggressive" plan which would see a "significant improvement" in fuel efficiency of the world's civil aircraft fleet, with GIACC recommending a global aspirational goal of 2 percent annual improvement to 2050. GIACC members failed to agree on the application of market-based measures and suggest the ICAO Council takes on further work to develop a framework. Read more ...
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Sweden approves advanced navigation procedure to provide aircraft noise respite for Arlanda community
Wed 3 June 2009 - From 2018, residents living in the centre of Upplands Väsby, south of Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, will suffer less noise from aircraft descending on their approach to the airport. Approved for the first time in Europe, an innovative curved approach procedure will be used by aircraft equipped with the necessary modern technology to avoid flying over the community. The Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedure is a method of aircraft navigation that utilizes modern flight computers, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and innovative new procedures to enable aircraft to precisely fly predetermined paths. Read more ...
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US and European cap and trade schemes could drive airlines to the brink, says US airline industry chief
Thu 28 May 2009 - In a speech yesterday, Air Transport Association of America (ATA) President and CEO James May estimated the proposed Waxman-Markey climate change legislation if enacted would cost US airlines around $5 billion in 2012, escalating to around $10 billion in 2020. With the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) further imposing a cost to airlines of "several billion dollars in 2012, tripling by 2020", they will drive some airlines to and beyond the brink, he said. May also said his organization does not support the environmental approach being taken by the Aviation Global Deal Group. Read more ...
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Air New Zealand claims findings from biofuel test flight show significant reductions in fuel burn and emissions
Thu 28 May 2009 - Scientific testing following the biofuel flight conducted by Air New Zealand in December last year suggests that up to 1.4 tonnes of fuel and 4.5 tonnes of CO2 can be saved on 12-hour, 5,800-nautical mile long-haul flight powered by a 50/50 blend of second generation jatropha sustainable jet biofuel and traditional Jet A1. This represents a 1.2 percent cut in fuel burn, and at shorter ranges fuel burn would improve by 1 percent using the same blend. Overall savings from bio-derived jet fuels are estimated to be a 60-65 percent reduction in GHG emissions relative to petroleum-derived jet fuel. Read more ...
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Vancouver becomes first Canadian airport to offer the public real-time and historical flight and noise data
Wed 27 May 2009 - Vancouver International Airport now offers an online tool that allows neighbouring residents the opportunity to check real-time flight and noise data, as well as historical data within the previous 30 days, collected by the airport authority's aircraft noise monitoring and tracking system. WebTrak for YVR records flight activity using radar data received from NAV CANADA, Canada's air navigation service provider, and noise data collected at 20 noise monitoring terminals stationed throughout Metro Vancouver. Read more ...
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IATA chief calls on governments to deliver a global sectoral approach to reducing aviation emissions post-Kyoto
Wed 27 May 2009 - Speaking at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, IATA's Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, said governments should define a sectoral approach in Kyoto 2 with global accounting for aviation's emissions through ICAO and open access for airlines to properly regulated carbon markets. By working together on a coordinated approach, he said governments and the aviation industry could make aviation the first global industry to achieve carbon-neutral growth. He estimated that aviation emissions will fall by 8 percent this year, with 6 percent resulting from the recession and the remainder from industry technology, operations and infrastructure efficiency improvements. Read more ...
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Waggling wings and micro air jets could cut aircraft emissions by a fifth, discover UK research scientists
Wed 27 May 2009 - Redirecting air flow sideways across an aircraft's wings causing them to oscillate could dramatically cut airline fuel costs and CO2 emissions by 20 percent, according to research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Airbus in the UK. The approach uses many thousands of tiny air powered jets which redirect the air, making it flow sideways back and forth over the wing, severely reducing mid-flight drag. The research is still at concept stage but it is hoped to trial the wing technology as early as 2012. Read more ...
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GIACC gathers for final meeting to agree on an action plan to address aviation's growing carbon emissions
Fri 22 May 2009 - The fourth and final meeting of ICAO's 15-member Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) starts in Montreal on Monday (May 25) with expectations for a unanimous agreement on a global action plan to curb international aviation emissions looking increasingly uncertain. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is to deliver a paper to the group which outlines how a global sectoral approach on economic measures to address aviation CO2 emissions could be developed and sets out fuel efficiency goals up to 2020 and net CO2 reduction targets by 2050. In a paper prepared for GIACC by the ICAO Secretariat, however, aviation CO2 emissions could grow from 632 Mt CO2 in 2006 to between 890 and 2,500 Mt CO2 by 2050, excluding a contribution from alternative fuels. Read more ...
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SAS to host session on aviation and environment issues at Copenhagen climate change business conference
Fri 22 May 2009 - International business leaders, politicians and climate change experts are gathering in Copenhagen for the World Business Summit on Climate Change starting on Sunday (May 24). During the event, SAS is hosting an aviation session, in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which aims to engage with policy-makers on aviation and environmental issues in the lead up to the United Nations climate change conference (COP-15) in December, also in Copenhagen. As Greening Partner to the summit, SAS is offsetting the CO2 emissions of all participants choosing to fly to the event with the airline. Read more ...
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The pace of environmental progress has accelerated despite economic slowdown, claims Boeing chief
Wed 20 May 2009 - In its 2009 Environment Report just published, Boeing says it is continuing to improve the environmental performance of its products through technology advancements and is targeting improvements in the fuel efficiency of each new generation of commercial aircraft by at least 15 percent compared to those they replace. The report highlights reductions during 2008 in the company's energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions and hazardous waste at its facilities, as well as its pioneering efforts in technologies such as sustainable biofuels. Read more ...
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Don't make airlines a scapegoat for carbon emissions, travel chief tells US Senate subcommittee
Mon 18 May 2009 - Sam Gilliland, the Chairman and CEO of Sabre Holdings, the world’s largest travel distribution and technology company, has called on the US Government to immediately address the "bleak" situation facing the travel industry and take action on energy policy, environmental policy, air traffic control modernization and Treasury travel guidelines. Testifying before a US Senate subcommittee, he said the Government should provide incentives for research, development and delivery of alternative fuels. He also said carbon-related revenues raised from commercial aviation should be re-directed back into environmental and efficiency improvements to help the aviation industry "grow rather than flounder". Read more ...
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NatureAir's carbon neutral aviation programme wins prestigious world travel and tourism award
Mon 18 May 2009 - The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has named Costa Rica-based Natureair the winner of its 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Conservation Award. The airline was selected for its carbon neutral programme that engages customers in a non-voluntary carbon offset scheme, and its commitment to fuel reduction in the air and on the ground. The programme funds the protection and reforestation of the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica. NatureAir has developed the country's only biodiesel refuelling station, which is used to run its entire ground operations equipment and vehicles. Read more ...
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FedEx CEO commits to his freighter fleet meeting 30 percent of its aviation fuel use from biofuels by 2030
Fri 15 May 2009 - FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith says the global logistics corporation is aiming to have 30 percent of its air transportation fuel needs met by second generation biofuels by 2030. At a conference in Washington DC, he called for funding of alternative fuel research be stepped up. FedEx, the world's biggest freight carrier, has planned to cut its aviation CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 through fleet replacement and other initiatives. At the same conference, Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said his airline has targeted a 25 percent cut in CO2 emissions per kilometre flown by 2020. Read more ...
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Electric Smart Car arrives at Manchester Airport to assist in reaching carbon neutral target
Wed 13 May 2009 - The UK's Manchester Airport has introduced a low-emission Smart Car to its fleet as part of a drive to make its ground operations carbon neutral by 2015, the first of several initiatives the airport says it is taking to reach its target. The electric-powered car emits zero emissions if powered from renewable sources, saving around 7.2 tonnes of CO2 over the four-year or 40,000-mile lease of the vehicle. At present, the Manchester Airport Group sources 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, with ambitions to source 100 percent by 2010. Read more ...
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Climate czar concedes that aviation CO2 emissions could form a quarter of total UK output by 2050
Fri 8 May 2009 - The UK Government's policies on aviation and climate change came under scrutiny this week at an evidence session of the House of Commons Transport Committee. Lord Adair Turner, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), said that if aviation CO2 emissions remained flat they could make up a quarter of the UK's total under the Government's pledge to reduce overall CO2 emissions by 80 percent by 2050. At the same hearing, Lord Chris Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said he did not believe passengers and airlines were paying enough to cover their environmental impact. Read more ...
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UK Transport Secretary calls on the US and EU to agree on a common approach to aviation and climate change
Fri 8 May 2009 - The UK's Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon has called on the European Union and the US to work together to create a safe, sustainable and viable aviation industry to meet the economic and environmental challenges. He said he wanted to see an agreement between the EU and US on a clear approach to climate change in aviation, involving new fuel efficiency standards and meaningful global emission goals. Aviation can move away from being seen as part of the environmental problem, he said, and instead become a part of the global solution. Read more ...
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Airbus announces the five finalists for its 'Fly Your Ideas' competition to find future environmental solutions
Thu 7 May 2009 - Airbus has chosen five university student teams from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America to go forward to the final next month of its 'Fly Your Ideas' challenge to develop creative ideas that could help shape the future of aviation and deliver further reductions in the industry's impact on the environment. More than 2,350 students representing 225 teams from 82 countries originally entered the competition launched last October, from which 86 teams were selected for the second round Read more ...
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Life cycle study shows camelina-derived biojet fuel can reduce GHG emissions by up to 84 percent
Tue 5 May 2009 - Renewable fuels company Sustainable Oils reports that results from a life cycle analysis of biojet fuel created from camelina seeds developed by the company show the fuel reduces carbon emissions by up to 84 percent compared to conventional petroleum jet fuel. The research was carried out by the Sustainable Futures Institute at Michigan Technological University in collaboration with hydroprocessing technology company UOP. Sustainable Oils and UOP partnered in supplying camelina biojet fuel for the Japan Airlines test flight in January. Read more ...
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Finnair and Qatar Airways announce they are to join the Aviation Global Deal climate policy group
Tue 5 May 2009 - Finnair and Qatar Airways are joining the Aviation Global Deal (AGD) Group that was set up in February to develop a global policy for tackling aviation emissions. Both airlines say that unilateral emissions schemes are not the answer to reducing the industry's emissions and a solution must be global. They join Air France - KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, airport operator BAA and international NGO The Climate Group. Last month, the AGD Group presented their ideas during a UNFCCC session in Bonn. Read more ...
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Sapphire Energy says it aims to deploy commercial-ready algae-based jet fuel in three years time
Fri 1 May 2009 – California-based Sapphire Energy, which supplied algae-based jet fuel for the recent Continental Airlines and Japan Airlines biofuel test flights, has doubled its initial estimates on production of diesel and jet fuel. It claims it will be in a position to supply one million gallons of fuel by 2011, increasing to more than 100 million gallons annually by 2018. By 2025, the company predicts it will be producing one billion gallons by 2025, enough to meet around three percent of the United States' 36 billion gallon renewable fuel standard. Read more ...
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Boeing and CFM target two percent fuel efficiency gains with upgraded Next-Generation 737 in 2011
Fri 1 May 2009 - CFM International, the GE-Snecma engine joint venture, has launched a new engine enhancement programme scheduled to enter airline service in mid-2011 to coincide with cabin and structural changes to the 737NG announced simultaneously by Boeing. Structural improvements will reduce drag on the airplane, reducing fuel use, and therefore CO2 emissions, by about one percent. Boeing's engine partner is contributing a further one percent fuel saving through hardware changes to its engine. Read more ...
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US airlines look to come to terms with the possibility of climate change legislation and regulation
Tue 28 Apr 2009 - Climate change has moved high on the US political agenda over the last month. This week, the Obama administration is convening a meeting of 17 major nations in Washington to begin talks on international action as a prelude to the UN climate summit in December. Tougher regulations on aircraft greenhouse gas emissions are now likely from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the proposed Waxman-Markey bill currently being debated on Capitol Hill seeks to introduce an emissions cap-and-trade system that will impact on US airlines. Read more ...
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Qatar Airways signs agreement to join the new IATA carbon offsetting programme
Tue 28 Apr 2009 - Qatar Airways has signed an agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to offer its passengers an opportunity to offset the carbon emissions of their flights. The Middle East carrier is the first to announce it is to join IATA's new carbon offset programme. Three other airlines, so far unnamed, have signed Memorandums of Understanding with IATA, one of which is expected to be the first to go live in early June. IATA says it hopes to have around 14 airlines in the programme by year end. Read more ...
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Virgin America to be first US airline to report its greenhouse gas emissions to The Climate Registry
Fri 24 Apr 2009 - Virgin America has become the first airline to join The Climate Registry, the non-profit organization that sets standards to calculate, verify and report greenhouse gas emissions. The airline will report accurate and recognized emissions data as a Member on an annual basis as it measures and manages its emissions and CO2 reduction goals. Although the move is voluntary, it comes as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers how to design a mandatory GHG emissions reporting system in which The Climate Registry could play a future role. Read more ...
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The United States and China sign agreement to share environmental best practices at airports
Fri 24 Apr 2009 - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they will work together to share best environmental practices at airports in the two countries. The CAAC reports that the country plans to spend $30 billion on aviation infrastructure in 2009 and $17 billion on airport construction and expansion over the next five years. By 2020, China is expected to have a total of 244 civil airports, including 97 new airports, with around 40 new projects expected to start during this year alone. Read more ...
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Air Liquide to lead hydrogen-powered airport ground technology and infrastructure project at Montreal
Wed 22 Apr 2009 - International gases company Air Liquide is to lead a CAN$14 million (US$11.3m) project to supply a range of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies as well as a hydrogen fuelling station at Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and also at another airport at a later date. It will involve converting passenger shuttle buses as well as passenger and utility vehicles, and other hydrogen generated stationary and auxiliary power applications. Meanwhile, Athens International Airport says it has so far converted 26 company vehicles to use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with another 24 to follow shortly. Read more ...
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Etihad Airways partners with Abu Dhabi's Masdar to develop carbon and waste reduction initiatives
Wed 22 Apr 2009 - In line with Abu Dhabi's vision as a world leader in clean technology, Etihad Airways has signed a partnership agreement with Masdar, a multi-billion dollar, multi-faceted initiative to establish the emirate as a centre for future energy innovation. Masdar will work with Etihad to support the implementation of the airline's environmental initiatives, particularly in relation to carbon and waste management. Under the agreement, Etihad will also support the bid of the United Arab Emirates to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency. Read more ...
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LFV introduces new airspace system that will allow straighter routes and reduced emissions over Sweden
Thu 9 Apr 2009 - From today, certain flight routes over Sweden will be straighter as a result of a new system called Free Route Airspace Sweden (FRAS), which is being introduced for a trial period of two years. FRAS will allow flights cruising above flight level 285 (about 9,000 metres) and north of the 61st parallel to choose their own routes. Air navigation service provider LFV says that as a result, CO2 emissions can be reduced by around 17,000 tonnes per year. Read more ...
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Worldwide aviation is one of the most rapidly growing sources of CO2 emissions, claims new research study
Wed 8 Apr 2009 - The total influence of aviation on climate is considerably greater than has been suggested solely on the basis of its current 2.8 percent share of current anthropogenic fossil CO2 emissions, says two leading European climate researchers. Their analysis shows that from its beginnings in 1940 through to 2005, civil aviation has been responsible for a rise in global mean temperatures of around 0.028 degrees C, representing approximately 4.7 percent of the total anthropogenic change. Read more ...
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MINT project gets underway at Stockholm-Arlanda to reduce emissions and noise through navigation procedures
Tue 7 Apr 2009 - A new six month project has been launched that will trial Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures during descent and approach at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport by an Airbus A321 aircraft operated by Novair. The Minimum CO2 in TMA (MINT) project will demonstrate how CO2 emissions and noise reductions can be achieved by optimizing the vertical profile and reducing the distance of the lateral track during operations through the use of RNP. The project, with an anticipated 10 demonstration flight trials taking place, is being undertaken under the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE). Read more ...
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New biomass boiler at Stansted Airport performs beyond expectations as gas consumption drops sharply
Tue 7 Apr 2009 - London's Stansted Airport says its new state of the art biomass boiler, powered by woodchip to heat the terminal building, has helped reduce annual gas consumption at the airport by nearly 40 percent. Part of the £50 million ($73.5m) terminal extension completed in 2008, the biomass technology was introduced to make the development carbon neutral and designed to support the gas-fired boilers that have heated the terminal since its opening in the early 1990s. However, its performance since last November has proved so efficient that it is now the airport's primary boiler. Read more ...
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Airline climate change group outlines at UNFCCC talks how aviation emissions can be tackled post-Kyoto
Tue 7 Apr 2009 - The Aviation Global Deal (AGD) Group yesterday presented UN climate change negotiators with a draft policy framework for addressing CO2 emissions from international aviation that could help provide the basis of an agreement at the UNFCCC Copenhagen summit in December. The group, which comprises British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, BAA and international NGO The Climate Group, has come up with a number of proposals, some controversial, that include setting a global emissions target and the setting up of a sectoral emissions cap-and-trade scheme. Read more ...
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Aviation industry calls for renewed efforts by ICAO to find a global solution on emissions by Copenhagen
Fri 3 Apr 2009 - Aviation industry leaders have called on ICAO to "redouble its efforts" to provide a sectoral framework for a global solution on reducing aviation emissions that can be taken to the UNFCCC climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. Mounting concerns over the lack of progress of ICAO's GIACC process were expressed during the two-day Aviation & Environment Summit in Geneva organized by the ATAG. British Airways chief Willie Walsh said there was a genuine threat to the industry if an agreement was not reached. Read more ...
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Two air navigation initiatives announced that could save over 13 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually
Thu 2 Apr 2009 - During the course of the Aviation & Environment Summit just concluded in Geneva, two initiatives involving Performance-based Navigation (PBN) and Continuous Descent Approaches (CDAs) were announced. PBN is an ICAO-led air navigation satellite-based concept that if implemented worldwide could potentially lead to a cut of 13 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The European aviation industry has launched a joint action plan designed to reduce aircraft CO2 emissions by over 500,000 tonnes annually by implementing CDAs at up to 100 airports across Europe by the end of 2013. Read more ...
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European Parliament SES II vote paves the way for Europe-wide flight time and fuel savings by 2012
Mon 30 Mar 2009 - European MEPs voted last week in favour of the Single European Sky II (SES II) legislative package that will bring about shorter flight times, reduced aircraft fuel consumption and therefore lower CO2 emissions. An agreement with transport ministers had been reached the previous week. EU airspace is currently broadly divided into 27 different systems under the control of national governments, each with different rules and ATC operations, leading aircraft to fly circuitous routes. The package will speed up the unification process with the creation of Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) before June 2012. Read more ...
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Dutch Government ditches eco ticket tax in efforts to halt declining traffic at Amsterdam Schiphol
Mon 30 Mar 2009 - The Dutch Government is to scrap from July 1 its air passenger ticket tax, first dubbed the 'eco' tax when it was introduced against major opposition by aviation and local industry last year. The controversial departure tax, which ranges from 11 to 45 euros, is blamed for a steep decline in passenger traffic at the main Dutch airports, particularly at Amsterdam Schiphol. The move was welcomed by airlines, particularly those from the low-cost sector, who called for similar taxes to be abandoned elsewhere. Read more ...
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UK demand for aviation turbine fuel fell by 3 percent in 2008 compared to previous year, reports DECC
Fri 27 Mar 2009 - According to statistics just published by the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), deliveries of aviation turbine fuel fell in 2008 by 3 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2008, deliveries decreased by 6.2 percent on the same quarter a year earlier. There was a total demand for 12.253 million tonnes of fuel in 2008 compared with 12.633 million tonnes in 2007, following a year of peak consumption in 2006. Read more ...
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United States still formulating opinion on the EU ETS, says top US international aviation negotiator
Fri 27 Mar 2009 - The new US administration is still working out its position on the inclusion of US carriers into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, says John Byerly, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs at the State Department. He was speaking yesterday at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Aviation Symposium, reports ATW Daily News. Last year, under the previous administration, the US took a tough line on the issue, sending diplomatic notes to the EU saying the inclusion breached the Chicago Convention and was therefore illegal. Read more ...
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Airbus adds two more international sites to ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification
Thu 26 Mar 2009 - Airbus Americas and Airbus China Beijing Campus have achieved certification according to the ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems. In January 2007, Airbus became the first aerospace company in the world to achieve this certification, with compliance it had initially focused on its 16 production sites, including the Toulouse headquarters. The next site for certification will involve the recently inaugurated A320 'Final Assembly Line China' in Tianjin. Read more ...
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MPs call on UK Government to increase air passenger duty and renegotiate Chicago Convention over fuel taxes
Wed 25 Mar 2009 - The UK House of Commons all-party Environment Audit Committee (EAC) has called on the UK Government to urgently seek reform of the Chicago Convention so as to allow governments to impose a tax on international aviation fuel. The fall in oil prices makes such a move timely and desirable, it suggests. The committee also expressed "extreme disappointment" with the Treasury's decision to "backtrack" on a proposal to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD) with a per plane charge. Read more ...
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Aviation industry in the mix as climate lobbyists chase their causes on Capitol Hill
Wed 25 Mar 2009 - Since January, US politicians have introduced more than 20 bills mentioning climate change compared with only 60 or so in the period from 2005 to 2006. This has led to an ever-burgeoning number of climate lobbyists flooding Capitol Hill, with the aviation industry strongly represented, reports a New York Times article. The focus is on cap-and-trade legislation as well as securing funding for alternative fuels development and the upgrade of the air traffic control infrastructure. Read more ...
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Fuel management software company FuelPlus launches emissions product in time for EU ETS deadlines
Tue 24 Mar 2009 - German fuel management software provider FuelPlus Software has launched a new product, FuelPlus Emissions, to allow airlines to meet upcoming EU deadlines for reporting and tracking aircraft emissions. It will enable carriers that are to be included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to track, report and forecast tonne-kilometre data and aircraft emissions for every flight and every type of fuel. Meanwhile, Dublin-based Liberator.aero has won a contract to provide Bangkok Airways with its LFI Fuel Savings Programme. Read more ...
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Lufthansa Cargo holds its first environmental conference and presents its Cargo Climate Care Awards
Tue 24 Mar 2009 - Lufthansa Cargo recently held its first-ever Environmental Conference in Frankfurt during which it awarded prizes for its newly inaugurated 'Cargo Climate Care Awards'. Prizes worth a total of 16,500 euros were presented in three categories: Customers, Employees and Young Researchers and Scientists. The initiative is part of a wide range of activities the carrier has developed in its efforts to reduce emissions, with an overall aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Read more ...
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Sabre's flight carbon calculator described by Oxford study as the most detailed and accurate available
Mon 23 Mar 2009 - Sabre Holdings, the US travel technology organization, has developed an airline carbon calculator which has been described as the most detailed currently in existence in a new study by the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute (ECI). The model draws on Sabre's database used for its worldwide computer reservations system that contains information on all flights including date of travel, airline, departure point and destination, as well as model and seating configuration of the plane used for the flight. Read more ...
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Lufthansa Consulting launches Emissions Trading Services solution to help carriers prepare for EU ETS
Fri 20 Mar 2009 - Lufthansa Consulting, the international consultancy arm of German carrier Lufthansa, has launched a service for airlines joining the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Although trading does not start until 2012, action is urgently needed, it says, since airlines must be in a position to submit their monitoring plans to the respective authority this August. The company has come up with a three-phase solution to help carriers fulfil their ETS requirements and implement them within the stipulated timeframe. Read more ...
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With one meeting left, time is running out for the ICAO GIACC process to conjure up a global strategy
Wed 18 Mar 2009 - With three out of its four scheduled meetings now completed, the ICAO Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) has produced only a limited consensus so far in its quest to develop and recommend a programme of action on limiting international aviation greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is cautious optimism in some quarters that an agreed programme of goals and measures can still be put forward to a special ICAO Council meeting in the autumn that can be taken to the UNFCCC Copenhagen summit in December, but some observers remain sceptical of the outcome. Read more ...
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Shipping sector claims major progress on increasing energy efficiency as it prepares for UNFCCC Copenhagen
Thu 19 Mar 2009 - Like its civil aviation sister UN agency ICAO, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been tasked with coming up with a global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its sector. IMO claims major progress was made last week when its Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships met last week to discuss technical and operational energy efficiency measures for new and existing ships. The development of possible market-based instruments, such as emissions trading, will be debated at a further meeting in July. Read more ...
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NATS sets emissions baseline and spells out how it aims to achieve 10 percent reductions in CO2 by 2020
Tue 17 Mar 2009 - Further to the pledge in January by NATS, the UK's air navigation service provider, to reduce the total emissions by aircraft it controls by an average of 10 percent per flight by 2020, its researchers have now calculated that 26.3 million tonnes of CO2 were produced in UK airspace in 2006, so providing a benchmark to assess its performance. NATS says it is the first company in its sector to create this environmental aim. Chief Executive Paul Barron said that 70,000 tonnes of CO2 had already been saved over the past year through improved airspace management and design changes. Read more ...
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Shortage of sufficient quantities of suitable biofuels halts Rolls-Royce engine testing programme
Tue 17 Mar 2009 - The biofuel programme initiated by Rolls-Royce and British Airways has been temporarily suspended after failing to find a supplier who could deliver the required 60,000 litres of alternative fuel for intensive ground testing. Rolls-Royce aimed to test up to four alternative fuels on a RB211 engine taken from one of BA's Boeing 747 aircraft, but only three responses were forthcoming from a worldwide tender issued last July. Read more ...
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Onera to lead European consortium into study of medium-term deployment of alternative aviation fuels
Mon 16 Mar 2009 - French aerospace research organization Onera is to lead a 19-strong consortium in a study into the medium-term deployment of alternative jet fuels. The strategic feasibility and impact study is designed to provide political authorities with the information needed to foster and anticipate the emergence of alternative solutions that should enable the aviation industry to ensure the reduction of its dependence on oil-based products and its environmental impact. Meanwhile, in the US, NASA is conducting ground engine tests measuring the performance and emissions from synthetic jet fuels. Read more ...
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Qantas calls on the Australian Government to establish a national aviation biofuels industry
Thu 12 Mar 2009 - Qantas has urged the Australian Government to encourage the development of a sustainable biojet fuel industry in the country. The proposition was included in the airline's response to the Government's green paper on national aviation policy, 'Flightpath to the future', which has gone out for consultation following its publication in December. Qantas also said in its submission that a global emissions trading system for international aviation was crucial to avoid the proliferation of uncoordinated measures. Read more ...
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New website launched to provide US public with advice and information on aviation noise
Thu 12 Mar 2009 - A new US website, NoiseQuest, has been launched to offer information, advice and resources for members of the public interested in aircraft noise issues. It is aimed at community members, civic leaders, home buyers and others concerned about aviation noise to help them understand noise sources and effects, explore options for dealing with noise and access noise-related resources. The site was developed by Penn State University and the Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER). Read more ...
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Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to collaborate with Boeing on technology research projects
Wed 11 Mar 2009 - Vestas, the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, is to work with Boeing on joint research projects that further the development of environmentally progressive technologies. The two companies will explore possible projects in areas such as aerodynamics and structural health monitoring, as well as composite materials fabrication processes, design and analysis. The collaboration was sealed at this week's International Scientific Congress on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen. Read more ...
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Pratt & Whitney's fuel burn reducing engine wash system to be provided at more North American airports
Wed 11 Mar 2009 - Aviation services provider ReadyJet has signed a multi-year agreement to provide Pratt & Whitney's EcoPower aircraft engine washing system at major airports throughout the United States and Canada. Regular engine washing with the system can increase the fuel economy of an aircraft by up to one percent, with CO2 emissions reductions of hundreds of tonnes per engine. Engines cleaned regularly have also shown to emit less exhaust pollutants, and lower turbine temperatures, up to 15 degrees, enable longer service time. Read more ...
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Air Transport Association calls on US Congress not to include aviation in any cap-and-trade legislation
Wed 11 Mar 2009 - Following President Obama's call for the US Congress to pass emissions cap-and-trade legislation, James C. May (right), President and CEO of the Air Transport Association (ATA), which represents most US airlines, has said emissions trading does not make sense for US aviation and was the wrong answer. Meanwhile, the ATA says it will continue to oppose what it calls the unilateral imposition of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on US airlines, believing it to be in violation of international law and bad policy. Read more ...
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100 megawatt solar farm set to replace Californian regional airport in an environmental twist
Tue 10 Mar 2008 - Following the cancellation of its sole commercial flight in December, Los Angeles/Palmdale Regional Airport has been closed due to lack of demand and the site may now be converted to a solar power farm capable of generating up to 100MW of clean energy. Situated 60 miles (96km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles, the 17,750-acre (7.2ha) Palmdale Regional had hoped to attract nearby residents wanting to avoid Los Angeles International, the airport having originally been slated as a global mega-hub back in the 1970s. Read more ...
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New funding required as first phase of Omega's academic aviation sustainability project draws to a close
Mon 9 Mar 2009 - The two-year Omega project, a collaboration of nine UK universities researching a wide range of aviation impacts on climate change and the environment, has drawn to a close. The ambitious UKP5 million pound ($6.4m) programme, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, has carried out 40 different studies and Omega is now disseminating their findings to industry and government stakeholders. Funding has yet to be sourced for the next stage of project but Chief Executive Roger Gardner (right) believes Omega has a continuing and crucial role to play in developing and transferring knowledge to the aviation sector. Read more ...
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UK Government announces first consultation on regulations under which the aviation EU ETS will operate
Wed 4 Mar 2009 - A 10-week consultation has been launched today by the UK's Department for Transport (DfT) and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that seeks responses to proposed regulations under which the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will operate in the UK. The regulations set out a date of 31 August 2009 by which time the 780-odd aircraft operators to be administered by the UK should submit a benchmarking plan if they wish to apply for free allowances. The Government also confirmed that the Environment Agency will regulate the scheme in England and Wales, and will be supported by the Civil Aviation Authority. Read more ...
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Eurocontrol holds workshop to address industry concerns over costs of compliance with EU ETS
Tue 3 Mar 2009 - A workshop has been hosted by Eurocontrol to address concerns by aircraft operators over the administrative costs they are likely to face as a result of the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of emissions required by the EU directive incorporating aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for flights arriving or departing the EU from 2012. Airline representatives also called for the compliance process to avoid complexity and for the exchange of traffic and emissions data to remain confidential. Read more ...
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DECC launches its carbon offsetting quality mark and starts consultation to clearly define 'carbon neutral'
Mon 2 Mar 2009 - The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has unveiled the new carbon offsetting quality mark to help consumers easily identify carbon offset schemes that have met the Government's criteria and offer "genuine carbon savings". DECC has also launched a consultation seeking to clearly define the term 'carbon neutral' as well as recommendations on good practice so that the term can be used in an informed way. Meanwhile, a Department for Transport sponsored survey into public attitudes towards climate change found that in 2008 just under half of UK adults believed air travel should be limited for the sake of the environment. Read more ...
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Industry consortium launches new company to exploit the potential of jatropha as a jet biofuel
Thu 26 Feb 2009 - A consortium of biofuel and carbon offset interests have formed a new company, JatrophaBioJet Corporation, to tap the potential of jatropha as an alternative jet fuel. It aims to provide a cooperative single point exchange for the worldwide supply and purchase of jatropha jet fuel and a carbon offset opportunity. JatrophaBioJet believes the recent successful in-flight trials using jatropha-derived biofuels provide an opportunity to exploit a requirement for 200 million barrels of jet biofuel by 2017. Read more ...
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American Airlines joins US Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders programme
Thu 26 Feb 2009 - American Airlines is to participate in the Climate Leaders programme of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Climate Leaders is a collaboration of business and the EPA to develop comprehensive climate change strategies in which members commit to reducing their impact on the global environment by setting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals to be achieved over the next five to 10 years and reporting their progress to the EPA annually. Read more ...
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New carbon efficient eco retirement home unveiled for Concorde at Manchester Airport
Thu 26 Feb 2009 - One of the few remaining highly environmentally unfriendly Concorde aircraft has been retired to a newly-built eco-home at the UK's Manchester Airport. The 2,574-square-metre Concorde Visitor Centre, which will display the aircraft, includes a corporate hospitality suite, an education centre for local schools and a glass-walled visitor centre. Before its final flight to Manchester in 2003, the noisy, fuel-guzzling but iconic and much-loved former British Airways Concorde G-BOAC was in service for three decades, during which time it achieved the highest recorded ground speed for a commercial airliner of 1,488mph. Read more ...
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Coalition of US aviation industry groups lays out principles for framing debate on aviation and climate change
Wed 25 Feb 2009 - Twenty-one US and international aviation industry groups, representing airlines, airports, general aviation, aerospace manufacturers, pilots and air traffic controllers, have joined together to issue a paper outlining a set of guiding principles to address aviation and climate change. The principles include creating a cost-benefit analysis, a central framework, an international dimension, a comprehensive energy policy and a science-based debate. The paper also calls for a US national energy policy. Read more ...
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UK statistics report a quadrupling of passengers and trebling of aviation emissions since 1980
Tue 24 Feb 2009 - Figures published by the UK Government's Department for Transport (DfT) and compiled by the Office of National Statistics show that the number of passengers flying to, from or between UK airports has more than quadrupled between 1980 and 2007, from 50 million to 216 million per year. Passenger numbers have increased steadily during this period, although domestic flight passenger numbers have fallen over the last two years. The report also includes results from surveys that indicate 36 percent of the UK public believe aeroplanes contribute most from all transport modes to climate change. Read more ...
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Swedish airport operator LFV achieves carbon dioxide emissions reductions of a third over last three years
Mon 23 Feb 2009 - LFV, the operator of 16 Swedish airports including Stockholm-Arlanda and responsible for air navigation services in the country, claims it has reduced carbon dioxide emissions across the group by a third since 2005, from 15,000 tonnes to 9,900 last year. It is LFV's intention to halve emission levels by 2010 compared with 2005. The LFV Group is the first Swedish company to become a carbon neutral enterprise. Stockholm-Arlanda has targeted itself to become a zero-emission airport by 2012. Read more ...
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Companies put cost savings before environmental concerns as recession impacts business travel
Fri 20 Feb 2009 - The annual global survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and corporate travel management solutions company KDS has found that companies now see cost-cutting as the top business travel concern - rated a high priority by 79 percent of respondents - while environmentally sustainable travel was only a high priority for just 17 percent, compared with 29 percent the previous year. Overall, environmental sustainability is rated only a mid-level priority, ranked at this level by 48 percent of organizations. Read more ...
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Boeing achieves ISO 14001 environmental certification for all its major manufacturing facilities
Thu 19 Feb 2009 - As one of its prime environmental performance goals, Boeing has now achieved the internationally recognized ISO 14001 certification across all major manufacturing facilities in the US, Canada and Australia. The standard is for organizations wanting to implement or improve an environmental management system, which includes a set of processes, systems and practices to reduce environmental impact and to operate more effectively. Read more ...
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Manchester Airport achieves carbon standard certification in move towards carbon neutrality
Thu 19 Feb 2009 - Manchester Airport has become the first UK airport to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in recognition of the airport's commitment to the environment through carbon emissions reduction and carbon management. The Carbon Trust was set up in 2001 by the UK Government as an independent company to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organizations to reduce their emissions. The airport has pledged to reach carbon neutral status by 2015. Read more ...
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Airbus confirms that its first biofuel commercial aircraft test flight will not take place until 2010
Tue 17 Feb 2009 - Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has confirmed that JetBlue will be the first Airbus operator to test a biofuel blend on one its A320 planes during the spring of next year. Airbus announced last May that it was partnering with the US low-cost carrier along with engine manufacturer International Aero Engines (IAE) and Honeywell's fuel refining technology subsidiary UOP on the biofuel programme. Airbus believes that 30 percent of jet fuel requirements could be met by biofuels by 2030. Read more ...
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European Commission publishes list of aircraft operators and their administering states for ETS
Mon 16 Feb 2009 - The European Commission has published a preliminary list of over 2,700 aircraft operators from around the world who may be eligible to join the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from 2012. The list also includes each operator's administering Member State, which shows that over 750 operators, more than a quarter of the total, will be allocated to the United Kingdom. Most of the large US, Middle East and Asian airlines are included in the UK list. Latvia, by contrast, will oversee just five carriers. Read more ...
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Morphing winglets under development promise fuel savings and reduced aircraft noise on landing
Mon 16 Feb 2009 - Boeing and Airbus are developing moveable winglets - the fins at the end of a wing - in a bid to build greener, quieter planes, reports New Scientist magazine. Perfected at NASA in the 1970s, conventional, fixed winglets are small, upward extensions to a plane's wing which minimize the drag experienced by the wing, making it easier for the plane to cut through the air, which in turn boosts its fuel efficiency. Winglets fixed at an angle of around 25 degrees from the vertical can cut an aircraft's fuel consumption by 3 to 5 percent. Read more ...
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There is a critical need for more global coordination on alternative aviation fuels, claims ICAO
Fri 13 Feb 2009 - The Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr Taieb Cherif, told delegates at this week's ICAO Workshop on Aviation and Alternative Fuels that the international aviation community had not yet achieved an integrated approach to alternative fuels and there was a critical need for more global coordination. He suggested ICAO was the recognized forum for that to happen as it was committed to exercising its leadership among all aviation stakeholders, be they States, industry or specialized agencies. Read more ...
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North American airports agree to implement ambitious environmental goals over the next decade
Fri 13 Feb 2009 - Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA), which represents most commercial airports in the US and Canada, has adopted a series of environmental goals covering all aspects of airport operations and management. It calls on every member airport to have an environmental policy by next year and for large airports to have in place an Environmental Management System by 2014. Other targets cover ground emissions, energy, noise, waste management and water quality. Read more ...
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Major airlines say a global approach to aviation emissions must be included in a post-Kyoto climate deal
Thu 12 Feb 2009 - Four leading international airlines – Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic – plus UK airport operator BAA, have called for CO2 emissions from international aviation to be included in a new global climate deal to be negotiated at the UNFCCC summit in Copenhagen in December. They have formed an industry coalition called the Aviation Global Deal (AGD) Group that aims to work alongside IATA and ICAO, as well as industry stakeholders, governments and NGOs, to develop an appropriate policy solution at a sectoral level. Read more ...
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UK Government’s climate adviser tells parliamentary committee that personal flights may have to be rationed
Tue 10 Feb 2009 – To lower pollution from the aviation industry, people should be given personal flight limits, Lord Turner (right), Chairman of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change. The committee was instrumental in persuading the UK Government to adopt tougher national targets on reducing carbon emissions and to include aviation in those targets. Meanwhile, leading US climate scientist Dr James Hansen has told The Observer that coal not aviation was the number one priority in the battle against climate change, although he has since retracted some of his comments to the UK newspaper. Read more ...
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Airlines prepare to enter Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme as aviation directive comes into force
Tue 10 Feb 2009 - The directive incorporating aviation into the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) entered into force last week, obliging EU Member States to pass appropriate legislation and make administrative provisions before 2 February 2010. Aircraft operators flying within or to and from Europe are required to enter into the first phase of the scheme's Monitoring, Reporting and Verification process. During 2009, operators who fall within the scope of the ETS will have to submit monitoring plans. Meanwhile, Europe's statistical agency reports that air passenger transport in the EU27 states rose 7.3 percent in 2007. Read more ...
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UK domestic and international aviation CO2 emissions declined in 2007 from previous year, reports DECC
Fri 6 Feb 2009 - According to the final estimates of total UK greenhouse gas emissions for 2007, CO2 emissions from international aviation fuel use decreased by 1.9 percent over 2006 and domestic aviation emissions fell by 6.6 percent over the same period. This is the first time emissions from UK aviation have fallen since the post-9/11 period. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) points out, however, that international aviation emissions have more than doubled since 1990 compared with a fall of 18 percent in overall UK GHG emissions. Read more ...
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UK Government finally unveils its controversial quality assurance scheme for carbon offset providers
Fri 6 Feb 2009 - The UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has invited carbon offset providers to apply to join its Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting, an initiative aimed at increasing consumers' understanding of carbon offset schemes such as those offered by airlines and helping them to make informed purchases of good-quality offsets. Those providers who have been approved can then use a quality mark to demonstrate to the public and businesses that their offset schemes and the projects supported comply with the quality criteria set out by the Government. Read more ...
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US researchers develop new traffic optimization procedure that could cut annual aviation emissions by 6 percent
Thu 5 Feb 2009 - Researchers in the US have developed a traffic optimization procedure that could potentially reduce national commercial aviation fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 6 percent, based on a saving of more than one billion gallons a year. Known as En Route Traffic Optimization, the procedure involves new algorithms that allow air traffic controllers to determine how to assign aircraft to the most direct and efficient routes possible while maintaining comfortable safety margins between aircraft. Read more ...
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New US administration provides timely and valuable funding for next-generation biofuel research and development
Wed 4 Feb 2009 - The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has welcomed an announcement by the new US administration that the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) are to release up to $25 million in funding for the research and development of biofuels. The funding is aimed at increasing the availability of alternative renewable fuels and bio-based products, and the US airline industry is hopeful that the development and commercialization of aviation jet biofuels will benefit from the initiative. Read more ...
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Japan Airlines demonstration flight concludes current series of alternative biofuel feedstocks testing
Fri Jan 30 2009 - Following a series of test and demonstration flights across four continents over the past year, Japan Airlines (JAL) today concluded the programme of biofuel flights undertaken to prove the viability of second generation sustainable biofuels as a drop-in replacement for traditional jet kerosene fuel. Those participating in the programme are optimistic that such fuels could be used in commercial airline operations within three to five years. Today's flight was the first use of the crop camelina in a jet fuel blend and the first using an aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. Read more ...
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Two different green approaches to resolving airport ground support vehicle pollution announced
Wed 28 Jan 2009 - Westchester County Airport in New York state is replacing its 25 motorized ground vehicles with all-electric versions, which are expected to save about $200,000 a year in fuel costs (at $2/gallon) and eliminate 27,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the vehicles' anticipated 14-year life span. Part of the $2.47 million cost will be met by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. Down in Costa Rica, NatureAir, which describes itself as the world's first carbon-neutral airline, has launched its own alternative refuelling station to convert its ground vehicles to run on biodiesel. Read more ...
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Eurocontrol predicts a 3 percent decrease in the number of European flights in 2009 following sharp falls
Tue 27 Jan 2009 - Eurocontrol, the organization responsible for air navigation across 38 European member states, reports the number of flights in Europe last year totalled around 10 million, representing an increase of just 0.1 percent compared to 2007. This is the lowest increase in five years, with major European markets, in particular Italy, Spain and the UK seeing significant declines in traffic, although Eastern Europe continued to see strong overall growth. IATA, meanwhile, is forecasting that global CO2 emissions from aviation will fall 4.5 percent in 2009. Read more ...
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Virgin America extends its passenger carbon offset programme to allow for in-flight transactions
Tue 27 Jan 2009 - Following the December launch of its carbon offset programme in partnership with US non-profit carbon offset provider Carbonfund.org, Virgin America is giving its passengers the opportunity to offset their journey during the flight via the airline's touch-screen seatback in-flight entertainment system, Red, which incorporates a touch screen and a credit card swipe. This makes Virgin America the first US domestic airline to offer such a service. Travellers can also offset their flight at the time of booking through the airline’s ticket confirmation web page. Read more ...
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Ecobarrier wins 750,000 euro prize in design competition to find a runway noise-reduction solution at Schiphol
Mon 26 Jan 2009 - A design called the Ecobarrier has won an international competition held by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to find an innovative noise-reduction facility for its Runway 18R-36L. The airport had invited educational institutions, private individuals, design agencies and businesses to present a solution to a ground noise problem suffered by residents in nearby Hoofddorp-Noord caused by aircraft taking off from the runway. The 'Create a Barrier of Silence' competition attracted 97 entries from 17 countries, including China, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and several European countries. Read more ...
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EU to call for international airline emissions to be included in the post-Kyoto climate framework
Fri 23 Jan 2009 - According to Reuters news agency, the European Union is to call next week for international airline and shipping emissions to be included in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol that is hoped to be agreed at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen this coming December. At a conference of international transport ministers in Tokyo last week, Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, the President of the Council of the UN civil aviation agency ICAO, told journalists that ICAO was pressing ahead with plans for an international cap-and-trade emissions scheme for aviation. Read more ...
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Transport ministers call for urgent ICAO action on international aviation emissions in lead-up to Copenhagen
Mon 19 Jan 2009 - Transport ministers and representatives from 21 developed and developing countries have called for "expeditious discussions" to take place within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) before the end of the year to address emissions from international aviation. Convening at the Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport held in Tokyo late last week, ministers adopted a declaration that emphasized future actions in the transport sector to tackle climate change and air pollution. Read more ...
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Court gives Frankfurt Airport green light to proceed with new runway and terminal project despite pending lawsuits
Mon 19 Jan 2009 - Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, has been given the go-ahead by the state of Hesse's Administrative Supreme Court to start construction work on a fourth runway and a third terminal. Hesse's Economy Ministry had given its approval in December 2007 but environmental groups, local councils and affected residents had sued to halt the expansion project. The court rejected emergency appeals to stop construction until a series of forthcoming lawsuits starting in June had been heard but did agree to delay a decision on planned night flight restrictions, saying they were not far reaching enough. Read more ...
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Go-ahead given for pre-conditioned air project at Seattle-Tacoma that promises substantial CO2 savings
Sun 18 Jan 2009 - The Port of Seattle Commission has approved funds to design a pre-conditioned air project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Once installed, it will enable aircraft to shut down their noisy and emissions-inefficient auxiliary power units and use pre-conditioned air supplied at each gate from a central utility plant instead. The project, which will be largely funded by FAA grants, is expected reduce overall emissions by more than 69,000 tonnes per year, savings equal to two percent of the total annual emissions by aircraft at the airport. Read more ...
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Divided UK Government finally agrees to Heathrow expansion but with environmental strings attached
Fri 16 Jan 2009 - After an intense, lengthy and acrimonious national debate, the UK Government finally gave its approval for the construction of a third runway and sixth terminal at London's Heathrow Airport. Despite a rejection of the proposal to introduce 'mixed-mode' operations that would have allowed simultaneous landings and take-offs on the same two existing runways, along with stricter environmental targets for the airport, the decision has been greeted with relief by the aviation industry and business leaders. They may have won the battle but the war is not over as the opposition political parties, local councils and residents, London's Mayor and environmentalists pledge to fight on in their efforts to stop the airport’s expansion. Read more ...
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Aircraft recycling takes on a new twist with the opening of the world's first Boeing 747 airport hostel
Mon 12 Jan 2009 - Boeing 747 operators and owners looking to retire their older, fuel-guzzling aircraft might be interested in this novel recycling opportunity. This week sees the opening of the world's first hostel built onboard a 747-200, and located at the entrance to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The aircraft was grounded back in November 2002 and last year underwent a complete overhaul and renovation. Passengers - sorry, guests - can book the Cockpit Suite, which retains parts of the original cockpit and provides a panoramic view of the airport. Read more ...
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Continental test flight achieves a number of firsts, including the debut of algae as a jet engine fuel
Thu 9 Jan 2009 - Continental Airlines successfully demonstrated the use of algae as an aviation fuel yesterday (Jan 8) in a two-hour test flight from George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas, reports Jim Lane. The flight was the first test of biofuels by a North American airline, the first to utilize algae as a biofuel feedstock, and the first biofuels test flight of a two-engine jet. With high production yields and energy content, algae is seen by many as providing the biggest potential in meeting the future jet biofuel demands of the airline industry. Read more ...
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DARPA awards two contracts totalling $35 million for research into affordable military jet fuel from algae
Wed 7 Jan 2009 - General Atomics and Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) have each been awarded contracts by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research and development organization for the US Department of Defense, to develop the technical capability, commercial algae production experience, resources, and commitment to demonstrate and ultimately commercialize the affordable production of military JP-8 surrogate fuel from algal feedstocks. The aim is to drive down the cost of algae triglyceride oil from around $30 per gallon to as little as $1 to $2 per gallon. Read more ...
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Lissys releases Boeing 787 analytic performance tool to help measure environmental emission levels
Wed 7 Jan 2009 - UK software company Lissys has released an advanced performance modelling tool for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that enables aeronautical engineers, airline operators, emissions experts or even the layperson to adjust key data to evaluate the new aircraft's performance, fuel burn and emissions. The release is included with the company's free Piano-X download. The full Piano database contains over 250 aircraft types and its data modelling has been used by ICAO and others in the development of airline online carbon calculators. Read more ...
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Japan Airlines to launch voluntary carbon offset programme for its passengers in February
Tue 6 Jan 2009 - Japan Airlines (JAL) has teamed up with Recycle One, the Japanese agency of The CarbonNeutral Company, to offer its passengers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from their flights from next month. Instead of making the contribution during the online booking process stage, passengers click on a banner on the JAL home page, which links to a JAL carbon offset micro-site provided by Recycle One. Passengers can select from around 10 sustainable development projects worldwide they would like to support through their contribution. Read more ...
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Successful Air New Zealand jatropha biofuel test flight hailed as a commercial aviation milestone
Tue 6 Jan 2009 - Last Tuesday's flight of an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 aircraft using a jatropha biofuel blended 50/50 with conventional Jet A1 fuel to power one of its four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines met all ground and inflight performance tests, according to the airline. Engineers are now assessing the effects of the biofuel on the engine and the aircraft's fuel systems. Meanwhile, Continental Airlines has confirmed its own test flight will go ahead tomorrow (7 Jan) in which a fuel blend derived from jatropha and algae will be used on a twin-engined Boeing 737-800. Read more ...
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