ZeroAvia to partner with British Airways on hydrogen power and secures UK funding towards HyFlyer project
Fri 18 Dec 2020 - British Airways (BA) is to partner with ZeroAvia on an initiative to explore how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a role in the future of sustainable flight. Following its world-first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-size aircraft in September, ZeroAvia is planning the commercialisation of hydrogen-electric power for aircraft as early as 2023 with flights of up to 500 miles (800 km) in a 19-seater aircraft under its HyFlyer II project. Based in London and California, ZeroAvia has just secured a £12.3 million ($16.3m) grant towards the project from the UK government through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). The company has also raised a further £16 million ($21.4m) in Series A venture funding. The BA partnership will be part of parent company IAG’s Hangar 51 accelerator programme. Read more ...
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Public contributions to Fly Green Fund allows delivery of sustainable aviation fuel to three Swedish airports
Thu 17 Dec 2020 - The Fly Green Fund, a non-profit Swedish initiative offering businesses, public organisations and private travellers a means to reduce the climate impact of their flights through the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), has delivered nearly 46 tons of SAF to three airports in Sweden. The fuel was purchased from Air BP and produced from 100 per cent renewable waste and residue raw materials by Neste in Finland. With a lifecycle emissions reduction of 80 per cent compared with the conventional jet fuel it replaces, the fuel is certified by ISCC, which guarantees it meets the criteria of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive. The Fly Green Fund was founded in 2015 by Karlstad Airport, SkyNRG and NISA (Nordic Initiative for Sustainable Aviation), and with this year’s delivery it has so far imported over 1,400 tons of SAF to Sweden since 2016. Read more ...
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Major European air cargo carriers launch SAF initiatives for shippers and forwarders to offset their emissions
Thu 17 Dec 2020 - Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has launched what it claims is the world's first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programme for the airfreight industry that will enable freight forwarders and shippers to participate in reducing aviation CO2 emissions. Based on a 'book and claim' system, forwarders and shippers contribute to offsetting emissions from flights through the use of SAF. Customers determine their own level of engagement with the programme and their entire investment is used for sourcing SAF. Lufthansa Cargo has launched a similar initiative in which customers can have the CO2 emissions of their shipments calculated during the booking process, which they can then offset through Lufthansa Group's Compensaid platform and the funds used to purchase SAF. As a result of a collaboration with DB Schenker, the first flights to be covered by the use of SAF took place in late November on a return Lufthansa Cargo flight between Frankfurt and Shanghai. Read more ...
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Etihad Airways first Gulf airline to commit to 2050 net zero target and launches carbon offset programme
Tue 15 Dec 2020 - UAE national airline Etihad Airways has pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions to 50 per cent of 2019 levels by 2035 and achieve full net zero emissions by 2050, which it claims is a first for a Gulf airline and the first in the industry to set a mid-point target towards carbon neutrality. In initial steps towards the goal, Etihad has committed to neutralise the CO2 emissions of its flagship 'Greenliner' 787-10 aircraft for a full year of operations in 2021. Separately, the airline will implement an additional voluntary offset programme for passengers via its website booking platform in 2021. Etihad recently launched the first ever aviation 'transition sukuk', a form of Islamic sustainability-linked finance, raising $600 million that will support investment in next-generation aircraft and tied to performance in reaching the airline’s carbon reduction targets. In other Gulf news, Emirates has used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the first time to power an A380 delivery flight. Read more ...
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ICAO completes final building blocks for implementing CORSIA carbon scheme ahead of pilot phase start
Mon 14 Dec 2020 - ICAO's governing Council has adopted decisions on eligible carbon emissions units and sustainability certification schemes for eligible fuels that the UN agency says are the final building blocks for the CORSIA carbon offsetting mechanism for international aviation, which formally starts next month. At its 221st session, the Council accepted recommendations from its Technical Advisory Body (TAB) on a second set of eligible emissions units (EEUs) for use with offsetting requirements in the initial 2021-2023 pilot phase of CORSIA. This includes the approval of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) to supply airlines with national and subnational (jurisdictional) forestry protection carbon credits. ART was the only new second-round applicant to be recommended for immediate eligibility to supply CORSIA EEUs. RSB and ISCC have been approved as sustainability certification schemes for CORSIA eligible fuels. Read more ...
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United Airlines commits to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 through carbon capture technology investment
Thu 10 Dec 2020 - United Airlines has ramped up its 2018 pledge to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 by announcing a new ambitious commitment to a 100 per cent reduction by the same year. In an industry first, the US airline says it will meet its carbon neutrality goal through a multimillion-dollar investment in Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology rather than purchasing carbon credits to offset residual emissions. The investment is being made in 1PointFive, a partnership between Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental, and Rusheen Capital Management, which is using technology licensed from Carbon Engineering in the first industrial-sized DAC plant in the United States. United has already invested $30 million in sustainable aviation fuel producer Fulcrum BioEnergy, the single largest investment in SAF production by any airline globally. Read more ...
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UK's climate advisers recommend no net airport expansion without aviation industry progress to net zero
Wed 9 Dec 2020 - There should be no net expansion of UK airport capacity unless the sector is on track to sufficiently outperform its net emissions trajectory and can accommodate the additional demand, says the UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC). In a major report on recommended policies to achieve the UK's overall net zero emissions by 2050 target, the CCC says demand management will be required to constrain UK aviation growth to 25 per cent growth by 2050 from 2018 levels unless efficiency and sustainable aviation fuel take-up can be developed quicker than expected. The Committee recommends emissions from international aviation be included in UK carbon budgets and the net zero target by next year. The UK should also work with ICAO to set a long-term emissions goal consistent with the Paris Agreement, strengthen CORSIA and align the scheme to this goal in 2023. Read more ...
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New Zealand's Christchurch Airport first to be certified at ACI's higher transformation carbon accreditation level
Thu 3 Dec 2020 - Christchurch Airport in New Zealand has become the third airport in the world to reach the new higher level 4 certification of airport industry's Airport Carbon Accreditation voluntary programme. Whereas Dallas Fort Worth and New Delhi Indira Gandhi airports have been recognised at Level 4+ Transition, Christchurch is the first airport to achieve Level 4 Transformation. The new levels have been brought in by airports body ACI to reflect airport carbon reduction targets that are aligned with the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. To attain this accreditation, Christchurch has been required to address broader emissions in its carbon footprint that include all the significant operational sources on and off site, as well as demonstrate evidence of actively engaging and leading its stakeholders towards delivering emissions reductions. Read more ...
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EASA report on aviation's non-CO2 climate impacts highlights need for policy decisions and more research
Thu 3 Dec 2020 - Tasked by the European Commission to conduct an update on the non-CO2 effects of aviation on climate change, Europe's regulatory agency EASA has issued a report that highlights the latest understanding of the science and suggests technological, operational, policy and financial tools to address the issue. In addition to CO2, aircraft emit a wide variety of gases and aerosols at cruising altitude that influence climate directly and indirectly. The analysis confirms their significance is at least as important as those of CO2 alone, although the complexity of measuring non-CO2 climate impacts, together with the uncertainty regarding trade-offs between the various impacts, makes targeted policy development in this area challenging, say the authors. However, potential policies suggested include a levy on aircraft NOx emissions and/or the inclusion of such emissions under the EU ETS, and mandatory use of cleaner burning sustainable aviation fuels. Read more ...
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IATA launches carbon exchange for airlines to access and trade offsets for CORSIA and voluntary requirements
Fri 27 Nov 2020 - IATA has formally launched the Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE), a platform for airlines and other aviation stakeholders to offset their carbon footprint by purchasing credits in certified projects. Carbon reduction programmes on ACE include forestry projects, clean wind energy operations, protection of eco-systems and remote community-based projects to cut emissions. The platform has been under development since the beginning of the year and is aimed at providing a tool for airlines in fulfilling their offsetting obligations starting in 2021 under the ICAO CORSIA scheme. The impact of Covid-19 on the airline industry and a change to the CORSIA baseline means offsetting under the scheme is now unlikely to be required for at least several years but ACE will still be open to airlines wanting to invest in voluntary offsets. ACE was developed in conjunction with commodities trader Xpansiv CBL Holding Group and US carrier JetBlue has completed the first trade. Read more ...
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Sustainability to be at core of airport sector recovery plans as ACI adds levels to its CO2 programme
Fri 20 Nov 2020 - Representing nearly 2,000 airports worldwide, trade association ACI World has adopted a resolution at its annual assembly that recognises climate change requires global collaboration and action, and adaptation and resilience should be key issues included in airport recovery plans despite the Covid pandemic. Opportunities should be identified to 'build back better' by keeping sustainability and resilience at the core of recovery strategies, says the resolution. A survey conducted by ACI in 2019 found almost 70 per cent of airport operators who responded reported they had already been impacted by adverse weather patterns and conditions. Meanwhile, at ACI Europe's annual congress, two further levels were unveiled of the industry's Airport Carbon Accreditation programme that require airports to align their carbon management strategies and plans with the ambition of the Paris Agreement. Read more ...
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EU aviation sector calls for policy support and investment to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050
Thu 19 Nov 2020 - Over 20 European aviation and travel associations have called for a joint commitment between industry and policymakers to achieve net zero CO2 emissions from all flights within and departing from the EU by 2050. As signatories to an 'Aviation Round Table Report', they have urged EU leaders to join and actively support an 'EU Pact for Sustainable Aviation' by the end of 2021 by contributing to a policy and financial framework they see as vital to enable the aviation sector to deliver on its sustainability commitments. The report details ways aviation can recover from the Covid-19 crisis whilst supporting the EU's Green Deal objectives and build a greener, socially and economically robust future. These include an EU legislative framework on sustainable aviation fuels, funding and investment for low-carbon aircraft innovations and an incentive scheme for fleet renewal. The sector is also looking for EU aid in recovering from the pandemic. Read more ...
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Microsoft, Alaska Airlines and SkyNRG partner to reduce business flight emissions through SAF purchase
Fri 13 Nov 2020 - Microsoft, Alaska Airlines and SkyNRG have entered into agreements whereby employees of the software giant will have the CO2 emissions from their air travel between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and three West Coast destinations reduced through sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credits purchased from SkyNRG. The funds from the credits will be used by SkyNRG to supply SAF produced by World Energy in California and delivered to the airport fuelling system used by Alaska Airlines. The three companies hope the partnership, the first of its kind in the United States, will serve as a model for other companies and organisations that are committed to reducing the environmental impact of business air travel. They said they would explore expanding the programme in the future and are supporting the development of a global environmental accounting standard for voluntary corporate SAF purchases. Read more ...
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Japan's ANA becomes Neste's first Asian airline customer and starts SAF-fuelled flights from Tokyo
Wed 11 Nov 2020 - Finnish sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Neste, which has ambitions to becoming one of the world's biggest suppliers to the sector, has signed its first agreement with an Asian airline. The mid-to-long term collaboration with All Nippon Airways (ANA) started with SAF-fuelled commercial flights from Tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports late last month. On November 6, an ANA flight from Haneda to Houston, Texas, was the first international commercial flight departing from Japan to use SAF. The delivery of SAF was made possible through a collaboration and logistics coordination between Neste and the Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation. The fuel from Neste is made from sustainably sourced renewable waste and residue raw materials. Read more ...
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Qatar Airways launches passenger carbon offset programme in partnership with IATA and ClimateCare
Tue 10 Nov 2020 - Qatar Airways has launched a voluntary carbon offset programme for passengers in partnership with IATA and ClimateCare. The programme has been developed through IATA's Carbon Offset Program, which aims to bring standardisation to airline passenger offset programmes and share best practice in the structure and implementation of carbon offsetting. The IATA programme has been independently audited and approved by the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS), which the airline body says is the world's highest standard for carbon offsetting, with IATA being one of only four organisations worldwide to meet this standard. Contributions from the Qatar Airways programme will be directed to the Fatanpur Wind Farm project in India, which generates and supplies clean energy with a combined output of 108 MW to the Indian National Grid, avoiding around 210,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Read more ...
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US environmental groups say proposal by EPA to adopt rules equivalent to ICAO Aircraft CO2 standards is illegal
Mon 9 Nov 2020 - US environmental groups say the proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt the ICAO CO2 standards for aircraft into US regulations violates the nation's Clean Air Act because it fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite the EPA's findings that such emissions endanger public health and welfare. Moreover, they say, the proposal's failure to consider the statutory factors laid out in the Act or analyse the costs and benefits of a range of possible emission standards, and refusal to select an alternative based on the evidence before the agency was "arbitrary and capricious". The groups were responding to a public comment period just closed on the proposal, which has been largely supported by US aerospace and airline sectors. Although the majority of aircraft will not be subject to the standards until January 2028, the industry is calling for finalisation of its domestic adoption by the end of this year. Read more ...
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Covid-19 underscores global need to combat global animal smuggling in aviation, says report
Wed 28 Oct 2020 - While there is no evidence that a pandemic of zoonotic origin, such as Covid-19, has been linked to air transport, the aviation sector can play an important part in mitigating the risk of future disease events and pandemics by strengthening efforts to combat animal smuggling, says a report produced for ROUTES, an international group of agencies and transport industry representatives fighting wildlife trafficking. Based solely on public reporting, around 50 high zoonotic risk trafficking instances are identified every year across the world. The report details identification methods and other recommendations for the industry and government agencies to follow. Meanwhile, Air Canada has become the first North American airline to attain illegal wildlife trade certification by IATA. Read more ...
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Middle East peace deal will help save 87,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions with direct routings over Israel
Tue 27 Oct 2020 - The recent overflight agreement between Jordan and Israel, which allows for flights to cross both countries' airspace, will result in shorter flight times, reduced fuel burn and an annual reduction of around 87,000 tonnes of CO2, based on the number of eligible departure airports, says IATA. Should the number of eligible airports increase and traffic returns to pre-Covid levels, the emissions reduction could more than double to 202,000 tonnes each year. In the past, airlines have flown around Israel when flying east/west operating over Middle East airspace but the new direct routing will on average cut 106 km eastbound and 118 km westbound on flights operating from the Gulf States and Asia to destinations in Europe and North America. The operational elements of the new agreement are being led by the civil aviation authorities of both Jordan and Israel, with support from IATA and air traffic management agency Eurocontrol. Read more ...
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NATS' annual survey of public attitudes to aviation shows increasing demand for industry climate action
Fri 16 Oct 2020 - An annual independent survey carried out for UK air navigation services provider NATS has found a strengthening of public attitudes towards climate change action and a demand for the aviation industry to treat it as a top priority. The vast majority (70 per cent) of those interviewed across the UK - an 18-percentage point rise in just two years - agreed that emissions reduction was the highest priority for improvement by the industry, almost double the number who think it should prioritise noise (36 per cent). By a margin of 12:1, the public believe the industry should be prioritising investment in greener technology, such as fully-electric commercial aircraft. Just 39 per cent supported airport expansion, down from 57 per cent in 2019. The survey was carried out by Ipsos MORI in early March, just before Covid-19 brought air travel to a virtual halt. Read more ...
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ZeroAvia and Protium sign agreement to develop green hydrogen infrastructure at UK airports
Wed 14 Oct 2020 - Zero emissions flight pioneer ZeroAvia has signed a Heads of Terms collaboration with Protium to develop and expand green hydrogen infrastructure for decarbonising aviation in the UK. Project developer Protium has long-term ambitions to eventually own and operate green hydrogen infrastructure across UK airports. The UK and US based ZeroAvia recently operated a first zero-emission flight from Cranfield, with a six-seater aircraft using hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen in a fuel cell system to create electricity and propel the aircraft whilst only emitting water vapour. It is initialling targeting commercial operations in 2023 with a 10-20 seat aircraft for passenger transport and package delivery. Meanwhile, research commissioned by cross-industry group Sustainable Aviation has identified seven industrial clusters in the UK that could be home to up to 14 sustainable aviation fuel facilities. (Updated Oct 15) Read more ...
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CAE becomes first Canadian aerospace company to commit to carbon neutrality
Mon 12 Oct 2020 - Aviation training and flight simulator giant CAE has announced it is the first Canadian aerospace company to become carbon neutral. CAE intends to offset live training fuel emissions, employee's business air travel and energy other than electricity by funding greenhouse gas reduction projects. Electricity consumption, which amounted to 190,000 MWh in fiscal 2019, will be compensated by buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) that support renewable electricity development. The company says carbon offsetting and RECs are interim measures while new technologies and solutions are being developed to reduce emissions, and will continue to invest in making its full-flight simulators more energy efficient, so allowing its customers worldwide to reduce their own footprint. Read more ...
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A fifth of global aviation CO2 emissions can be attributed to premium passenger seating, finds ICCT study
Fri 9 Oct 2020 - In its first analysis of the carbon impact of premium (first and business) class seating, the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates nearly 20 per cent of emissions from commercial aviation were attributable to premium passengers in 2019, higher than the 15 per cent coming from air freight transport. Premium seating was estimated to be up to 4.3 times more CO2 intensive than economy seating. The ICCT study for the years 2013, 2018 and 2019 also found global commercial air traffic increased nearly four times faster than fuel efficiency improvement between 2013 and 2019, with passenger aircraft CO2 emissions increasing by a third during the period. The three largest aviation markets - the United States, the European Union and China - were together responsible for 55 per cent of CO2 emissions in 2019. Read more ...
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Decarbonising global aviation is feasible but will be a significant challenge, finds major industry report
Tue 6 Oct 2020 - The main focus of this year's Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, organised by the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), was the publication of Waypoint 2050, an analysis of pathways towards the sector's long-term climate goal. Set over a decade ago, the target calls for a 50 per cent net reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 from what they were in 2005. This would mean a reduction from around 914 million tonnes (Mt) in global commercial airline carbon emissions in 2019 to 325 Mt in 2050. At the global level, the industry does not foresee reaching net-zero emissions before 2060/2065 although recognises a number of airlines will reach this by 2050, in response to national or regional goals. Given current traffic forecasts, which have been downgraded due to Covid-19, emissions could rise to 1,800 Mt by 2050 on a business-as-usual trajectory and reaching the reduction target will be a significant challenge, says ATAG, with the next 10 years being a crucial period. Read more ...
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Rolls-Royce on course for all-electric aircraft speed record and joins sustainability accelerator programme
Wed 30 Sept 2020 - Rolls-Royce has completed ground testing of an aircraft that will aim to break the world speed record for all-electric flight early next year. The technology has been tested on a full-scale replica of the plane's core, called an 'ionBird', that includes a 500hp electric powertrain and a battery with enough energy to supply 250 homes. The plane is part of an initiative called ACCEL - short for 'Accelerating the Electrification of Flight' - with half the funding for the project being provided by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the UK government's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK. Rolls-Royce has also agreed to partner with ATI and Boeing on a three-month accelerator programme to support and back start-ups creating sustainability-enabling technologies to help the UK aerospace industry innovate and recover from the Covid pandemic. Read more ...
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Airlines unlikely to require significant amounts of CORSIA offsets for six years, finds Refinitiv analysis
Mon 28 Sept 2020 - Only an unlikely very quick aviation sector recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in the next three years would create any demand for carbon offsets from airlines in the 2021-2023 pilot phase of ICAO's CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme, finds a report by market analysts Refinitiv. This follows the ICAO Council decision in late June to amend CORSIA's baseline to protect the sector from an "inappropriate" financial burden during the recovery. If the Council decides in 2022 to continue with the amended baseline through to the scheme's conclusion in 2035, offset demand will be close to the level it would have been without the pandemic but only in a very quick recovery scenario. Meanwhile, a study carried out for Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment concluded the demand for CORSIA offsets will likely be 50 per cent lower than originally expected for the period 2021-2030 as a result of the baseline change. Read more ...
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Boeing's 2020 ecoDemonstrator test programme ends with transcontinental flight using 50% blended SAF
Fri 25 Sept 2020 - As part of Boeing's 2020 ecoDemonstrator programme, a final test flight of an Etihad Airways 787-10 from Seattle to Boeing's manufacturing site in South Carolina used 50,000 gallons of a 50/50 blend - the maximum blend permitted for commercial aviation - of sustainable and traditional jet fuel. The sustainable fuel, which has been used in lower blends on other test flights conducted during the programme, was produced from inedible agricultural wastes by World Energy and supplied by EPIC Fuels. Boeing and Etihad have had a longstanding collaboration on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and were founding partners on a pilot project taking place at Khalifa University near Abu Dhabi to produce jet fuel from saltwater-tolerant plants. Khalifa University has recently hosted a series of webinars focusing on SAF in the UAE. Read more ...
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Business aviation sector follows up sustainability commitment with SAF purchase agreements
Thu 24 Sept 2020 - Coinciding with the Virtual 2020 Business Aviation Sustainability Summit, four organisations from the sector - Gulfstream Aerospace, NetJets, VistaJet and Signature Flight Support - have announced purchase agreements with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) suppliers. Opening the Summit, the first organised by a coalition of business aviation industry and fuel groups, NBAA President Ed Bolen said SAF represented an enormous breakthrough in tackling the sector's environmental impact. Gulfstream said it was extending a SAF supply contract with World Fuel Services while VistaJet will secure availability for its customers globally of SAF sourced and delivered by SkyNRG. The fuel for both Gulfstream and VistaJet will be produced by World Energy. Neste has agreed to supply Signature and NetJets with SAF at San Francisco and London Luton airports. The Finnish renewable fuel producer has also just signed a SAF supply agreement with Shell Aviation. Read more ...
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Norwegian targets 45% improvement in carbon efficiency and to use 500 million litres of SAF by 2030
Wed 23 Sept 2020 – Low-cost carrier Norwegian has pledged to improve the carbon efficiency of its operations by reducing carbon emissions per passenger kilometre (pax/km) by 45 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 levels. Carbon emissions per pax/km have fallen by 28 per cent from 2010 to 2019 and Norwegian will need a further reduction of 24 per cent by 2030. The airline is aiming to achieve the target through fleet renewal and the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Depending on the level of fleet renewal, the airline is committing to utilising between 16 and 28 per cent of SAF by the end of the decade, equivalent of up to 500 million litres. Norwegian is also planning a 100 per cent reduction of non-recyclable plastics and a 30 per cent reduction and 100 per cent recycling of single-use plastics by 2023. In efforts to improve accountability, the company will also integrate climate risk and environmental factors into corporate governance, risk management and annual reporting. Read more ...
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Airbus plots course for zero-emission hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft to enter service in 2035
Tue 22 Sept 2020 - Airbus has unveiled three zero-emission concept commercial aircraft that could enter service by 2035, each relying on hydrogen as a primary power source. The three hydrogen hybrid aircraft designs, all codenamed ZEROe, include a turbofan design aircraft powered by a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen rather than jet kerosene, a similarly powered turboprop aircraft and a blended-wing body aircraft design. The turbofan and blended-wing body aircraft would have a range of around 2,000 nautical miles and carry up to 200 passengers, with the short-haul turboprop capable of carrying up to 100 passengers on flights of 1,000 nautical miles. Airbus expects to launch a hydrogen ground demonstrator aircraft next year and undertake a first flight of a demonstrator in 2025. CEO Guillaume Faury said the announcement of the programme was an historic moment for the commercial aviation sector and the most important transition the industry had yet seen. Read more ...
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French proposal for higher eco taxes on flying and Greenpeace legal threat over KLM bailout angers industry
Mon 21 Sept 2020 - Proposals put forward by the French citizens climate assembly for higher passenger taxes and other measures to reduce aviation emissions have been heavily criticised by industry body IATA, which said such a move would lead to heavy losses in jobs and GDP. The eco-taxes suggested could range from €30 ($35) for an economy class flight of less than 2,000km up to €400 ($470) for a longer flight in business class. According to the French civil aviation authority (DGAC), annual tax revenue from air passengers could rise nearly ten-fold to reach over €4 billion euros in a business-as-usual scenario if implemented in 2021. The UK's citizens climate assembly has recommended that frequent fliers and those who fly further should pay more. Meanwhile, Greenpeace Netherlands has filed a lawsuit to force the Dutch government to discontinue its bailout of KLM on the grounds that the climate conditions attached to the agreement do not go far enough. Read more ...
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ICCT report on commercial aircraft fuel burn trends argues for a more stringent ICAO CO2 standard
Thu 17 Sept 2020 - After stagnating from around 1990 to 2005, the average fuel burn of new jet aircraft decreased at a faster pace from the late 2000s and continued during the last decade, finds a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). This is attributed to the introduction of new, more fuel-efficient narrowbody and widebody aircraft such as Boeing's 787 and 737 MAX and Airbus’s A350 and A320neo. Depending on the metric used, the average fuel burn reduction was 1.0 to 1.5 per cent per year since 2010. As the only known new aircraft model on the horizon is Boeing's 777X, the reduction may slow down in the upcoming decade, forecasts the study, but if cost-effective technologies were adopted by the manufacturers, the improvement could be accelerated by up to 2.2 per cent annually through to 2034. ICCT recommends the current ICAO CO2 emissions standard be tightened in order to provide such incentives. Read more ...
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Members of international airline alliance oneworld commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Tue 15 Sept 2020 - The 13 airline members of the oneworld global alliance have united behind a common aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Four members - IAG's British Airways and Iberia, plus Japan Airlines and Qantas - have already committed to the 2050 target, with a fifth, Finnair, aiming to reach it by 2045. The other major alliance members now joining the pledge include American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and member-elect Alaska Airlines. Also committing include Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines and Russia's S7 Airlines, whose governments have not yet volunteered to join the international carbon-neutral growth scheme CORSIA. The airlines will develop their own individual approaches to reach the target and collaborate on a number of environmental and sustainability initiatives. Read more ...
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Major new study finds global aviation is responsible for 3.5 per cent of human-induced climate change
Mon 14 Sept 2020 – Although it is established that aviation’s contribution to climate change goes further than just emissions of carbon dioxide from jet engines, there have been considerable uncertainties over the impact of non-CO2 effects from, for example, contrails and contrail cirrus created by engines at high altitude. Attempts have been made to come up with multiplication factors to calculate aviation’s true climate impact but they have not been driven by the science. A major new international study, the first of its kind since 2009, has now calculated aviation is responsible for 3.5 per cent of all human activities that drive climate change. The study is unique in that for the first time the calculations have been made using a new metric - effective radiative forcing (ERF) - that was introduced in 2013 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Using the metric, the researchers found the impact from contrail cirrus is less than half previously estimated but is still the sector’s largest contributor to global warming. Read more ...
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US EPA proposes regulation of aircraft CO2 emissions to align with ICAO's international standard
Fri 24 July 2020 - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a CO2 emissions standard for commercial airplanes and large business aircraft that aligns with the CO2 standard agreed by ICAO in 2017. The proposed standard would apply to new type design airplanes on or after 1 January 2020 and to in-production airplanes on or after 1 January 2028, but not to those already manufactured and currently in use. Typically, three out of four aircraft manufactured in the US are sold overseas but if EPA were to adopt no standard, or not as stringent as ICAO's, US aircraft manufacturers could be forced to seek CO2 emissions certification from another country's authority in order to market their airplanes for international operation. The proposal was welcomed by industry group Airlines for America (A4A), which said adopting the standard would help US airlines meet the sector's carbon goals but environmental groups said the standard was too weak to drive the fuel efficiency improvements required. Read more ...
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UK's Jet Zero Council gets underway to bring aviation emissions in line with 2050 net-zero target
Thu 23 July 2020 - The first meeting of the UK's Jet Zero Council was launched yesterday by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and brought together aviation and aerospace leaders, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) companies, investors, academics and representatives from the environmental sector. The aim of the Council is to tackle aviation emissions in line with the government's 2050 net zero goal and an ambition to achieve the first ever zero emission long-haul passenger plane. Last week, a cross-party group of MPs called on the government to support investment in aviation decarbonisation and drive a green recovery, including industry-matched funding for early stage SAF facilities. Meanwhile, SAF businesses have been encouraged to take part in a Covid-19 green recovery competition led by government agency Innovate UK to receive financial support for research and development projects. Read more ...
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Aerion teams with Carbon Engineering on DAC-sourced synthetic jet fuels for its supersonic business aircraft
Wed 22 July 2020 - Supersonic aircraft company Aerion is teaming with Canadian clean energy company Carbon Engineering (CE) to develop synthetic fuels towards ambitions of making Aerion's AS2 business jet the world's first carbon-neutral supersonic commercial aircraft. CE's direct air capture (DAC) technology captures CO2 directly from the atmosphere and can be converted into drop-in transportation fuels using water and clean electricity. The two partners will jointly assess requirements to power AS2's non-afterburning Affinity engine, which is being developed and built by GE, with 100 per cent synthetic fuels. They will also explore a potential collaborative project to build an air-to-fuels plant to produce synthetic fuel specifically for AS2 operators. Aerion says it is the first aircraft OEM to commit to carbon-neutral operations. Boom Supersonic last year teamed with Prometheus Fuels on a carbon-neutral synthetic fuel for its XB-1 demonstrator supersonic aircraft. Read more ...
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Air Transat inks agreement to purchase sustainable aviation fuel from Canadian power-to-liquid start-up
Fri 17 July 2020 - Leisure carrier Air Transat has signed an offtake agreement, claimed to be the first in Canada, to purchase a significant portion of synthetic jet fuel from future production by the SAF+ Consortium. The power-to-liquid (PtL) fuel will be derived by capturing waste CO2 from a chemical plant located in Montreal East and use water and renewable electricity to produce drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Construction of a pilot plant is due for completion in 2021, with plans by the Quebec company for a pre-commercial demonstration plant to follow around 2025. The demo plant is expected to capture 10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, which should produce around 3 million litres annually, it said. Finance for the pilot plant is coming from a mix of public funding through Natural Resources Canada and equity investment from partners and private sources. Read more ...
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Neste supplies San Francisco with first batch of sustainable aviation fuel through existing fuel pipeline
Thu 16 July 2020 - Finland-based Neste has delivered its first batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) following an agreement it signed in 2018 with a group of eight airlines and fuel producers to expand the use of SAF at the airport. The blended jet fuel, made up of 35 per cent SAF, is being supplied to aircraft at SFO through the existing pipeline infrastructure, another first. Neste's renewable jet fuel product is made from renewable waste and residue materials, such as used cooking oil or animal fats, and final processing and production activity for the SFO batch was completed in Houston, Texas, before being shipped to San Francisco. The company said the greenhouse gas reductions from the the volumes it is supplying to SFO would be the equivalent of taking 1,200 narrowbody flights between SFO and New York out of service. Read more ...
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The EU kick-starts a hydrogen revolution with ambitions for hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035
Tue 14 July 2020 - A hydrogen-powered short-range commercial passenger aircraft could be flying within Europe by 2035, finds a major new study commissioned by the EU's public-private Clean Sky 2 and Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Joint Undertakings. The published report concludes hydrogen propulsion has the potential to significantly reduce aviation's climate impact. However, it will require significant aircraft R&D, further development of fuel cell technology and liquid hydrogen tanks, and also investment in fleet and hydrogen infrastructure alongside accompanying regulations and certification standards. The report lays out a number of policy actions and the framework needed for the transition, including a guiding roadmap, plus a big increase in in long-term research and innovation activities and funding. The report coincides with the launch by the European Commission of an ambitious strategy to include hydrogen in the EU's overall energy mix as part of the bloc's 2050 carbon neutrality goal. Read more ...
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European Commission invites feedback on revisions to the EU ETS ahead of a public consultation
Wed 8 July 2020 - The European Commission has opened an eight-week feedback period inviting comments on a revision of the Aviation EU ETS directive in order to implement the international CORSIA scheme consistent with the EU's 2030 climate objectives and European Green Deal. The Commission is also proposing to reduce the amount of free allowances allocated to aircraft operators and will assess the geographical scope of the EU ETS after 2023 when the existing directive provides for automatic reversion to coverage of all flights to and from Europe as well as within Europe. An inception impact assessment has been published and feedback is encouraged from stakeholders and citizens by 28 August 2020 to help inform a public consultation planned for the third quarter. A regulatory proposal from the Commission is expected during the second quarter of 2021. Read more ...
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ICAO Council agrees CORSIA baseline change to protect Covid-stricken airline sector from higher carbon costs
Wed 1 July 2020 - The ICAO Council has voted by a large majority to adopt an industry proposal to change the crucial emissions baseline rule for the CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme for international aviation. The move is aimed at protecting airlines from what ICAO describes as the "inappropriate economic burden" airlines are likely to face from a lower baseline as a result of the collapse of international air traffic this year leading to increased offsetting costs in future years. Instead of the baseline being calculated on the 2019-2020 average CO2 emissions from international flights covered by CORSIA, it will now be based on 2019 emissions only. The Council also voted to remove 2020 emissions from two other design features of the scheme. It plans to consider the effect of the changes during the scheme's first review in 2022. The outcome has been welcomed by IATA although environmental NGOs are highly critical. Read more ...
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European aviation urges governments to support the sector's green recovery through public funding
Tue 30 June 2020 - European air transport and aerospace trade associations have collectively called on EU governments to finance a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic through public funding for carbon reduction projects, research and replacement of older aircraft. They urge EU leaders to prioritise specific decarbonisation initiatives when allocating future recovery funding. These include direct capital investment or ownership in sustainable aviation fuel production facilities and implementing an incentive scheme for airlines and aircraft operators to replace older aircraft with more modern and environmentally-friendly models. The sector says it is committed to contributing to the economic recovery in line with the EU's Green Deal objectives. Meanwhile, NGOs have repeated calls for airlines to be taxed on their fuel, which could raise €3.7 billion ($4bn) a year and prevent a return to CO2 growth post-Covid. Read more ...
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Europe’s first power-to-liquid demo plant in Norway plans renewable aviation fuel production in 2023
Tue 23 June 2020 - An industrial consortium is planning Europe's first power-to-liquid (PtL) plant that will produce hydrogen-based renewable aviation fuel in Norway. The Norsk e-Fuel consortium is initially looking to build a demonstration plant at the Herøya Industry Park in Porsgrunn, near Oslo, capable of producing 10 million litres of fuel a year before scaling up the facility to commercially produce 100 million litres by 2026. The output of the full-scale plant would save an estimated 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and fuel the five most frequently serviced domestic routes in Norway with a 50 per cent blend. The renewable fuel would be generated from CO2 and water using 100 per cent renewable electricity. Planning of the €90 million ($100m) demo plant is said to be well underway, with other locations identified for a nationwide rollout. Read more ...
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ACI Asia-Pacific recognises airport water management best practice in its annual green airports programme
Wed 17 June 2020 - Airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East have been recognised for their innovative approaches to water management in the annual Green Airports Recognition (GAR) programme run by airport industry body ACI Asia-Pacific. The objective of GAR is to promote best practices to minimise aviation’s impact on the environment and this year's theme showcases projects fostering water conservation and prevention of water pollution. A survey by ACI Asia-Pacific last year showed water management continues to be one of the top three environmental priorities for airports. Submissions this year included projects covering wastewater treatment, water harvesting, water recycling and water reduction. Airports receiving the highest Platinum recognition were Chinese Taipei's Taoyuan International and Kaohsiung International and India's Rajiv Gandhi International. Meanwhile, Istanbul Airport's terminal building has become the world’s largest LEED Gold certified building in the world. Read more ...
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Jet Zero Council announced by UK government to develop greener air travel and awards Velocys SAF grant
Mon 15 June 2020 - Following calls from the aviation industry, the UK government has created a Jet Zero Council to help develop greener air travel towards a net-zero target by 2050. The new body will be made up of representatives from the aviation sector, environmental groups and government officials. The industry's coalition group Sustainable Aviation recently called for UK aviation "to be at the heart" of the government's economic and green recovery strategy. It urged the government to support the emerging sustainable aviation fuels sector by committing £500 million ($600m) to early-stage projects. The government has responded by announcing a £500,000 of grant funding for the Velocys Altalto waste-to-fuels project under its Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition. Meanwhile, UK trade unions have called for retraining of laid-off aviation workers in low-carbon sectors with better long-term prospects. Read more ...
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UK government sets out plans for including aviation in its own emissions trading scheme from next year
Thu 11 June 2020 - The UK government has released details on how it intends to incorporate aviation into a UK Emissions Trading System (UK ETS) and link with those of the EU and Switzerland, as well as the global CORSIA offsetting scheme. Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and the transition period due to finish by the end of this year, the first 10-year phase of the UK ETS would start in 2021, with a review after three years. In the light of the UK's commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, the government promises the scheme will show greater climate ambition than the EU ETS from the start by setting a lower cap on emissions. Proposed aviation routes to be covered include UK domestic flights, flights between the UK and Gibraltar, and flights from the UK to EEA states and to Switzerland if an agreement is reached. The government says it will begin a review on how a UK ETS could interact with CORSIA. Read more ...
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EU and US to back CORSIA baseline change proposal despite warnings of unintended consequences
Wed 10 June 2020 - EU Member States have adopted a proposal from the European Commission to back a fundamental change to CORSIA that would remove international aviation CO2 emissions in 2020 from the global aviation carbon offsetting scheme's baseline. The dramatic fall in air traffic due to the Covid-19 pandemic could otherwise significantly increase the airline sector's future offsetting costs. A 2019-only baseline would likely lead to no offsetting requirements from airlines during the initial three-year pilot phase starting in 2021. However, the Commission believes the change is necessary not only to support the crisis-hit industry but also to preserve support for CORSIA from other countries. The UK, the US and Latin American countries also favour the change, which is to be discussed by the ICAO Council during its current session. The ICAO Secretariat, meanwhile, cautions of the unintended consequences resulting from a quick decision. Read more ...
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Danish large-scale project plans using offshore wind power to deliver sustainable aviation e-fuels by 2030
Fri 5 June 2020 - A partnership of Danish green energy and transport organisations, including Copenhagen Airports and SAS, has been formed to explore the potential for a ground-breaking hydrogen and e-fuel production facility as soon as 2023. When fully scaled by 2030, using renewable electricity, the Power-to-X project could deliver more than 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuel for buses, trucks, maritime vessels and airplanes. Production would potentially be based on a total electrolyser capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, which would likely make it one of the world's largest facilities of its kind. The requirement for a large-scale supply of renewable electricity could potentially come from offshore wind power produced at Rønne Bank off the island of Bornholm. The partners are seeking public co-funding to conduct a full feasibility study of the project. Read more ...
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LanzaTech launches new LanzaJet venture following investment from Suncor and Mitsui to build new SAF demo facility
Fri 5 June 2020 - Alcohol-to-jet specialist LanzaTech has launched a new company, LanzaJet, to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from sustainable ethanol sources. Investment in the venture totalling $25 million has been secured from Canadian integrated energy company Suncor Energy ($15m) and Mitsui ($10m). The funding will be used to build a demonstration plant expected to produce 10 million gallons per year starting in 2022. This initial investment, coupled with participation from All Nippon Airways (ANA), will complement an existing $14 million grant from the US Department of Energy to enable the construction at LanzaTech's Freedom Pines site in Soperton, Georgia. In addition to its equity investment, Suncor has contracted to take a significant portion of the SAF and renewable diesel. Read more ...
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ICAO receives eight more applications from carbon programmes seeking offset eligibility under CORSIA
Thu 28 May 2020 - ICAO has received eight applications from emissions unit programmes in the second round of assessments by its Technical Advisory Body (TAB), along with material updates to two applications in the first round. The public is invited to comment by June 26 on the new applications and updates, in particular regarding their alignment with ICAO's emissions unit criteria (EUC). The programmes range from a project to supply geothermal-generated electricity to Kenya’s national grid to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative effort of 10 eastern US states to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector. The TAB's assessment and recommendations are expected for consideration by the ICAO Council during its session in early November. A third round of applications is planned to begin in January 2021. Read more ...
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Lufthansa Group to collaborate with Swiss ventures developing renewable jet fuel from sunlight
Wed 27 May 2020 - Lufthansa Group has signed a letter of intent with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) and its two spin-offs Climeworks and Synhelion to develop renewable jet fuel from sunlight. The collaborative partnership, initiated by Lufthansa Group subsidiaries SWISS and Edelweiss, will include cooperation in technology and economic efficiency, with an intention to agree at a later date on quotas of the renewable fuel to support demonstration projects. Researchers and engineers at ETH Zurich have developed processes that make it possible to extract CO2 from the atmosphere and together with water and the help of concentrated sunlight, convert it into a synthesis gas that can be used to produce jet fuel. The fuel releases only as much CO2 as was previously extracted from the atmosphere. Read more ...
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European Commission recommends EU states back industry proposal for CORSIA baseline change
Tue 26 May 2020 - The European Commission has recommended EU states should support a proposal by the airline industry to change the CORSIA baseline to take account of the expected sharp decline in carbon emissions this year. Under the scheme, airlines must offset the carbon emissions above a 2019-2020 baseline, but a lower baseline would likely mean a higher than expected carbon offsetting obligation. IATA estimates the baseline would be about 30 per cent more stringent than originally anticipated before the Covid-19 crisis and is calling for a 2019-only baseline. ICAO's environment committee CAEP has carried out its own analysis on the impact of changing the baseline to 2019 and found offsetting requirements in the three-year pilot phase starting in 2021 would be close to zero and be reduced by between 9 and 32 per cent in all phases up to 2035. Meanwhile, backed by an Oeko-Institut analysis, a group of NGOs and carbon market stakeholders has urged ICAO Council members not to make the change at next month's Council session and instead wait until the scheme’s first review in 2022. Read more ...
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The UK’s first waste-to-jet fuel plant takes a step forward as Velocys secures planning permission
Thu 21 May 2020 - Sustainable fuels technology company Velocys has received planning approval to build its proposed Altalto Immingham waste-to-jet fuel plant on a site in the north-east of England. Subject to completion of legal agreements with the local council and final funding, the company plans to begin construction in 2022 and to start producing commercial volumes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in 2025. The plant will convert "hundreds of thousands" of tonnes of non-recyclable household and commercial waste, otherwise destined for landfill or incineration, into SAF for the partners in the project, Shell and British Airways. The planning approval had been subject to an objection by Natural England, which expressed concern over the plant's location near an estuary site rich in wildlife but the objection was withdrawn and the council unanimously approved the application. Read more ...
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Aviation emissions the most impacted globally during the Covid-19 lockdown, shows analysis of economic sectors
Tue 19 May 2020 - In the first peer-reviewed study of the drop in global carbon emissions during the Covid-19 lockdown, an analysis of six economic sectors during the period January to April shows aviation was the most impacted by the confinement. While responsible for 3 per cent of global emissions, it accounted for a 10 per cent decrease in the global total during the first four months of the pandemic. The study, which has just been published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that daily global emissions across sectors during the peak of the confinement measures in early April decreased by 17 per cent - or 17 million tonnes (MtCO2) - compared to mean daily levels in 2019, dropping to levels last observed in 2006. Depending on the level of remaining worldwide restrictions and their duration, the researchers from the universities of East Anglia (UK) and Stanford (US) estimate a fall of 4 to 7 per cent in overall 2020 global emissions, the rate of decline needed annually to limit climate change close to a 1.5C warming, they point out. Read more ...
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ASTM approves pathway for production of microalgae-based sustainable aviation fuel developed by Japan's IHI
Mon 18 May 2020 - Fuel standards organisation ASTM International has approved the seventh technology pathway for the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Annex A7 to ASTM's SAF specification D7566 establishes approval for a type of synthesised paraffinic kerosene derived from hydroprocessed hydrocarbons, esters and fatty acids. The standard provides that HC-HEFA-SPK fuel, which has been developed by Japan's IHI Corporation, may be blended at up to 10 per cent by volume with conventional fuel. The fuel pathway is the first to receive expedited review under ASTM's fast-track review process. Meanwhile, sustainability standards body RSB has submitted to ICAO an application to be recognised as a sustainability certification scheme under the CORSIA global carbon scheme for international aviation. Read more ...
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Airlines unlikely to have any CORSIA offsetting obligations for at least three years if baseline rule changed, finds EDF analysis
Fri 15 May 2020 - Under most post-Covid recovery scenarios for the airline industry, it is unlikely airlines will have any obligations to purchase and surrender emissions units for at least the duration of CORSIA's three-year pilot phase starting next January if a rule change to the scheme's baseline is made, finds an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Aeroplane operators covered by CORSIA will be required to offset emissions above a baseline calculated on the average emissions from international flights for 2019 and 2020. However, the dramatic fall in global air traffic expected this year will significantly lower the baseline and result in a much higher offsetting obligation over CORSIA's 15-year duration, says IATA. It is calling on the ICAO Council at its session next month to change the rule so that only 2019 emissions are used as the baseline. EDF argues that such a decision should wait until the next Assembly in 2022. Read more ...
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Europe must not turn its back on CORSIA or it could fall apart, EU transport chief warns MEPs
Wed 13 May 2020 - With a deadline of the end of next month (June 30) for countries to voluntarily opt in or out of the CORSIA scheme from its start in January 2021, the EU's transport chief told sceptical members of the European Parliament this week that EU support was vital for the scheme's existence. Without it, there was a clear risk CORSIA "could fall to pieces", Commissioner Adina Vălean told a meeting of the Parliament's environment committee (ENVI). She reassured MEPs that a future revision of the EU ETS would not be compromised by the implementation of the global offsetting scheme for international aviation emissions and the two would be complementary. Meanwhile, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans told a transport committee (TRAN) meeting that it was legitimate for Member States to ask airlines currently seeking state bailouts for environmental commitments in return. Read more ...
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Growth of carbon emissions from European flights slowed in 2019 but still against downward trend in other industrial sectors
Thu 7 May 2020 - Aviation emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) rose by 1 per cent in 2019, as against an overall decrease of 9 per cent from stationary installations. However, the European Commission described the increase from 67.49 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018 to 68.14 Mt last year as significantly smaller than in previous years. Analysis by the Commission shows 46 per cent of 2019 emissions were covered by free allocations of allowances to aircraft operators. With IATA forecasting a potential 55 per cent fall in total 2020 European revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) as a result of Covid-19, many airlines may not need to buy any allowances this year. Meanwhile, only a few airlines have so far been required to agree environmental conditions as part of bailouts by EU states, which are largely business-as-usual targets. Read more ...
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Blow for commercial aircraft electric propulsion as Airbus and Rolls-Royce cancel E-Fan X programme
Fri 1 May 2020 - Airbus and Rolls-Royce have announced an ending to their joint hybrid-electric E-Fan X demonstrator programme, a pioneering project directed towards the electrification of commercial passenger aircraft. A BAe 146 test aircraft with one of its four jet engines replaced by a 2.5MW motor was due to embark on its first flight in 2021. With the industry in Covid-19 crisis mode, both parties have decided the actual requirement to carry out the test flight was "not critical at this time". Airbus Chief Technology Officer Grazia Vittadini said as the aircraft manufacturer started "to navigate the realities of a post-Covid-19 world", it needed to refocus and reprioritise its efforts to decarbonise the aviation industry. Rolls-Royce CTO Paul Stein said the company would continue with ground testing of the power generation system it had developed for the programme. Read more ...
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New report highlights the growing impact and health risks associated with wildlife trafficking through the air transport system
Thu 30 Apr 2020 - A new report on wildlife trafficking in the air transport sector shows that last year more than one million illegal wildlife products and live animal were seized at airports, with around one seizure recorded every day. The report, 'Runway to Extinction', examines the trends, transit routes and trafficking methods used by wildlife smugglers exploiting the aviation industry in six world regions. Produced by C4ADS as part of the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, this is the third report highlighting the world's fourth most valuable type of international organised crime. As Covid-19 ravages countries across the globe, the illegal wildlife trade is also an important factor in the spread of zoonotic - animal to human - diseases, with trafficked live birds, reptiles and mammals at risk of ending up in illegal or unregulated markets. Read more ...
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Aviation and fuel sectors respond favourably to major EU policy initiative to boost sustainable aviation fuels
Thu 30 Apr 2020 - The European Commission has received a largely enthusiastic response to its new roadmap initiative, ReFuelEU Aviation, aimed at boosting the supply and demand for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the EU. The Commission acknowledges that without EU-level intervention, the demand for SAF - currently just 0.05 per cent of total jet fuel supply - will likely reach just 2.8 per cent by 2050. The objective, it says, is to reduce the sector's environmental footprint in line with EU climate targets and the Paris Agreement. Policy options under consideration include a blending mandate to impose a minimum share of SAF, a revision of the multiplier under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive, a central auctioning mechanism and a funding mechanism to encourage deployment and uptake of SAF. The Commission's transport directorate (DG MOVE) has carried out an initial impact assessment (IIA) under the roadmap, which received over 120 responses from airline and aviation groups, oil and SAF producers, NGOs and government agencies. Read more ...
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Covid-19 air traffic slump provides European opportunity for 'perfect flights' initiative and more direct routes
Fri 24 Apr 2020 - While European air traffic volumes are considerably lower due to the coronavirus pandemic, airlines and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) have launched an environmental initiative to facilitate 'perfect flights' through optimising flight paths. The effort is being led by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) in association with IATA, A4E, ERA, AIRE, IFATCA and the Eurocontrol Network Manager. In order to manage traffic safely and efficiently into and out of busy airspace, ANSPs normally apply airspace restrictions to maximise capacity, reduce complexity and organise aircraft into specific flows. In the current low-level traffic scenario, most of these airspace restrictions can be lifted, which enables more direct routes and allows aircraft to fly their optimal vertical profiles, says CANSO. Read more ...
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IATA starts discussions with ICAO on changing the CORSIA baseline to exclude 2020 emissions
Tue 21 Apr 2020 - As IATA's regular updates on the Covid-19 impact on the air transport industry become increasingly pessimistic, many analysts are warning of an extended crisis with global air traffic not returning to previous levels for some years. IATA has raised its previous forecast on industry losses in 2020 by 25 per cent to $314 billion and a near halving of passenger traffic and capacity. The airline industry body has already started discussions with ICAO on changing the CORSIA baseline to avoid including 2020 emissions in the calculation, which would lead to an increased offset purchasing requirement during the course of the 15-year scheme. Both the EU and the US have shown some sympathy with the request. However, the European mood is that airlines should not escape their climate responsibilities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and that aid should come with strings attached. Read more ...
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IATA calls for change in CORSIA baseline to protect airlines from future higher offsetting requirements
Fri 3 Apr 2020 – As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, IATA has called on the ICAO Council to change the baseline calculation used for the CORSIA offsetting scheme for international aviation emissions. Under rules agreed by ICAO, the baseline is set at the average emissions for the years 2019 and 2020. For the 15-year duration of CORSIA starting next year, airlines are required to purchase offsets to cover any annual growth in emissions above the baseline. The collapse in global air traffic as a result of the outbreak, with demand unlikely to recover this year, will lead to significantly lower 2020 emissions. This in turn will lower the baseline considerably than was previously projected and result in much higher anticipated offsetting requirements and therefore costs once the sector returns to previous levels, says IATA. It requests the Council to make the change no later than the end of June. Read more ...
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Efforts to link US airline rescue package to carbon targets resisted as industry faces unprecedented times
Mon 30 Mar 2020 - Attempts have failed to link the future carbon emissions performance of US airlines to the rescue package aimed at helping the beleaguered sector through the coronavirus crisis. Congress voted last Friday to provide the US aviation industry around $60 billion in grants and potential loans as part of the total $2.2 trillion package. House Democrats proposed airlines receiving aid would have to start offsetting their carbon emissions in 2025 and reduce overall emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 but this was rejected by the Senate. In its latest assessment of the impact of the global pandemic on the airline industry, IATA is expecting a 38 per cent fall in global passenger traffic (RPKs) in 2020, with North America the least affected region (-27 per cent) and Europe (-46 per cent) the most. Concerns have been expressed over the calculation of the CORSIA baseline in which airlines will have to offset CO2 emissions above the 2019/20 average. Read more ...
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ICAO starts second round of applications from carbon programmes seeking CORSIA offsetting approval
Tue 24 Mar 2020 - ICAO has called for applications from carbon programmes for a second round of assessments against the CORSIA emissions unit criteria for approval to supply eligible emission units, or carbon credits, for offsetting compliance by airlines under the global scheme. The UN agency received 14 applications in the first round, with the governing Council approving six programmes this month and two more being invited to re-apply. Applications for the second round must be submitted by 20 April and ICAO will hold a webinar on 3 April for interested programmes needing to understand the process. Publication of applications is expected by the end of May, to be followed by a public comment period and then assessment by ICAO's Technical Advisory Body (TAB), with the Council deciding on the TAB's recommendations later in the year. Read more ...
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Following Brisbane trial, Gevo secures Australian funding towards sustainable aviation fuel evaluation project
Fri 20 Mar 2020 - Colorado-based renewable jet fuel producer Gevo has secured funding from the Queensland government to support the assessment of a waste-to-biofuel project in the Australian state. The Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund provides targeted funding for pilot, demonstration or commercially scalable biorefinery projects that use conventional waste streams or biomass to produce bioenergy, biofuels and high-value bioproducts. The award follows an initiative Gevo took part in to supply aircraft at Brisbane Airport with blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the airport's general fuel supply system. Gevo's participation in the trial, which completed last year and also involved Virgin Australia and the Queensland government, has led to the state being considered as the location for the company's first biorefinery outside of the United States. Read more ...
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Norwegian ambitions for establishing the electrification of short-haul passenger aircraft laid out in new report
Thu 19 Mar 2020 - The first use of electric aircraft for domestic scheduled air travel in Norway is feasible by the end of the decade, finds a report by airport operator Avinor and the Norwegian CAA for the country's government. If the right support and measures are put in place, the report foresees that by 2040 all domestic aviation in Norway will be operated with electrified aircraft, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent compared with 2020. It proposes incentives regarding technology development, investment support and an attractive tax regime during the operational phase, alongside international innovation cooperation. An aviation zero emissions task force has already been set up to prepare and present a roadmap in mid-2020 that includes EASA, the Norwegian CAA, Airbus, Leonardo, Safran, Avinor and airlines SAS and Wideroe. Read more ...
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ICAO Council follows advisory body recommendations and approves CORSIA-eligible carbon programmes
Mon 16 Mar 2020 - ICAO's governing Council has approved the first programmes that will provide eligible emissions units requirements in the 2021-2023 pilot phase of the global CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme. The Council has adopted in full the recommendations of its Technical Advisory Body (TAB) that was established to assess applications from emissions unit programmes against agreed CORSIA criteria (EUC). Of the 14 applications received, six programmes have been assessed as having met the scheme’s EUC, including the UN's CDM, with two programmes conditionally approved subject to meeting certain conditions. Two more have been invited to reapply with four others rejected either because their programmes were in the early stage of development or were not considered programmes. To reinforce CORSIA's environmental integrity, a vintage restriction has been placed on eligible units. (Article updated March 17) Read more ...
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Finnair signs SAF agreement with Neste as it targets a 50 per cent reduction of net emissions by 2025
Mon 9 Mar 2020 - As part of what it calls the most ambitious sustainability strategy to date in the aviation industry, Finnair says it intends to reduce its net emissions by 50 per cent by the end of 2025 from a 2019 baseline and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 at the latest. To achieve the 2025 target, the airline is investing between €3.5-4.0 billion ($4-4.5bn) over the next five years and a further €60 million ($68m) in sustainability initiatives over the same period. As well as seeking reductions in onboard weight and driving improvements in operational fuel efficiency, Finnair will also offset the carbon emissions from flights by corporate customers. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are to play a key role in its long-term carbon reduction strategy and last week the airline announced an agreement with Neste to purchase SAF for use on flights from Helsinki. Read more ...
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Airline chiefs slam European countries over green taxes and overdue reform of inefficient airspace
Fri 6 Mar 2020 - Chief executives from Europe's biggest airlines called for urgent reform and modernisation of European airspace that they said could eliminate around 25 million tonnes of CO2 a year and save €17.4 billion ($19.4bn) in fuel and related socio-economic costs. IAG's Willie Walsh said it was "scandalous" that after many decades, the Single European Sky still had not been implemented. Speaking at the Airlines for Europe Annual Summit this week, the CEOs also criticised attempts to tax passengers and fuel on environmental grounds, saying none of the revenues were used to help the industry decarbonise. Instead, the EU should ensure the full implementation of the global CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme and pursue a long-term carbon goal at ICAO. They also urged EU States to take legislative action and policy decisions to boost the development and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels. Read more ...
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Airport and air navigation sectors provide best-practice PBN guidance for aircraft noise management
Fri 28 Feb 2020 - Airports and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) have partnered to launch new guidance material on Performance Based Navigation (PBN), an advanced, satellite-enabled form of air navigation that enables aircraft to fly a precise vertical and lateral flight path. PBN offers enhanced safety, increased operational efficiency, reduced cost and a reduction in carbon emissions. However, because of the precise flight paths, PBN concentrates aircraft noise, which can bring benefits to some local communities around airports and adverse impacts to others. The new guidance addresses these benefits and challenges, as well as noise management options, stakeholder responsibilities, public engagement and PBN implementation case studies. Meanwhile, Europe's air navigation and safety organisation Eurocontrol has joined with airports to launch a new initiative for more sustainable airport operations. Read more ...
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Appeal court’s climate ruling delivers blow to Heathrow's expansion plans and third runway
Thu 27 Feb 2020 - The Court of Appeal in London has ruled the UK government acted unlawfully in failing to take into account the Paris climate change agreement when supporting the expansion of Heathrow Airport. In its judgement, the court said it was not making a decision that expansion was incompatible with the UK's commitment to reducing emissions under Paris but the ruling raises doubts about whether a third runway will now be built. The government is now considering its next steps but the Transport Secretary has indicated it will not appeal the decision. Heathrow noted other challenges on noise and air pollution had been rejected by the court and said it would appeal to the Supreme Court as the issue was "eminently fixable". Campaign groups fighting the expansion said the ruling had implications for other signatories to the Paris Agreement. Read more ...
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ICAO Council gathers to consider important decisions on carbon offset eligibility under CORSIA
Thu 27 Feb 2020 - During its 219th Session starting next week (March 2), ICAO's governing Council is expected to make important decisions on the global carbon offsetting scheme for international aviation, CORSIA, which starts in 10 months' time. Most notable is consideration by Council members of recommendations of the Technical Advisory Body (TAB) on emissions units, or carbon credits, to be eligible under CORSIA. The TAB has evaluated applications from 14 carbon programmes from the compliance and voluntary carbon market sector against a set of sustainability criteria adopted by ICAO and last month informally presented its findings to the Council. The decision on eligibility will provide the first test of the environmental integrity of the scheme, which is a cause for concern by some States, in particular Europe, and environmental groups. Read more ...
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JetBlue closes airline industry’s first sustainability-linked loan with BNP Paribas as it aligns financial strategy with ESG goals
Wed 26 Feb 2020 - JetBlue has closed a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) with global bank BNP Paribas by amending an existing $550 million senior secured revolving credit facility. Included under the terms of the SLL is a provision that aligns JetBlue's strategic initiatives with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and objectives. The SLL provides a pricing mechanism related to the applicable margin and commitment fee, which is then linked to the airline's ESG score provided by Vigeo Eiris, an international provider of ESG research and services for investors and organisations. The market in green or sustainability-linked loans has grown rapidly in recent years as companies seek to improve their environmental and social performance, and with investors becoming increasingly concerned over exposure to climate risks. By 2018, the global market for these loans had reached over $99 billion and JetBlue says its SLL is an airline industry first. Read more ...
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Heathrow goes carbon neutral and aims for zero carbon infrastructure by mid-2030s
Tue 25 Feb 2020 - London's Heathrow Airport has targeted being a zero carbon airport by the middle of the next decade, having become one of the world's first major aviation hubs to attain carbon neutral status for its infrastructure. The airport has invested £100 million ($128m) in improving energy efficiency and generating and buying renewable energy, which has resulted in a 93 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from its buildings since 1990. To reach carbon neutrality, remaining emissions will be offset through VCS-certified tree planting projects in Indonesia and Mexico, and Heathrow is to invest a further £1.8 million to support UK nature-based projects. Heathrow's plan is to achieve net zero carbon across its airport infrastructure "as soon as possible" and work towards zero carbon by the mid-2030s. Meanwhile, SAS has taken the top ranking for the third consecutive quarter in Heathrow's 'Fly Quiet and Green' league table. Read more ...
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Delta to spend $1 billion over next 10 years towards goal of becoming first major carbon neutral airline
Mon 24 Feb 2020 – Starting March 1, Delta Air Lines is committing $1 billion over the next 10 years towards mitigating all flight and ground emissions from its global operations. The airline said it will invest in driving innovation, advancing clean air travel technologies, accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions and waste, and new offsetting and carbon removal projects. Between 2005 and 2018, Delta reduced its absolute GHG emissions by 11 per cent, although emissions have increased marginally year on year since 2012. In 2013, the airline became the first to cap its annual emissions at the 2012 level through the purchase of carbon offsets. In December, Delta entered into a long-term offtake agreement to purchase 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel annually from Gevo and is promising further announcements this coming year. Read more ...
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KLM and SKyNRG announce new industry partners for their corporate biofuel programmes
Wed 12 Feb 2020 - KLM and SkyNRG have each announced new members of their respective corporate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programmes. Lavazza becomes KLM's first Italian partner to the airline's programme as part of implementing the coffee company's sustainability objectives across its entire value chain. Partners in the KLM Corporate BioFuel Programme pay a surcharge on their business travel that covers the difference in cost between biofuel and traditional jet kerosene to help stimulate the production of SAF. The programme was launched in 2012 together with Dutch SAF supplier SkyNRG, which itself was formed by KLM in 2009. Last year, SkyNRG started its own corporate SAF programme, Board Now, which extends the reach to non-KLM corporate customers. Its latest member is online air travel platform Etraveli Group, which operates over 20 brands globally. Read more ...
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UK aviation industry commits to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 despite a 70% growth in passengers
Wed 5 Feb 2020 - The UK industry coalition Sustainable Aviation (SA), which represents airlines, airports and manufacturers, has pledged to collectively achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The group believes the goal can be met while still enabling a 70 per cent growth in passenger numbers by mid-century. It forecasts that under a 'do nothing' scenario, UK aviation activity emissions could rise from 37 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2) in 2016 to 71 MtCO2 in 2050. SA has released a roadmap to show that 41 Mt could be reduced annually through in-sector gains from new and future aircraft technology, improvements in operational and air traffic procedures, and the use of sustainable fuels. To reach net zero would require an escalating price on carbon and market-based measures developed internationally that obligate airlines to mitigate the remaining emissions by investing in carbon reductions from outside of the sector. Read more ...
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ASTM approves ARA's synthetic kerosene process for the production of sustainable aviation fuel
Fri 31 Jan 2020 - A new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) specification has been approved for commercial airline use by standards development organisation ASTM International, with support from the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI). The new annex to the SAF specification D7566 establishes criteria for the production and use of catalytic hydrothermolysis jet fuel (CHJ), a type of synthetic kerosene developed by Applied Research Associates (ARA) in the United States. Developed with Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), ARA's Biofuels ISOCONVERSION (BIC) process uses catalytic hydrothermolysis to convert any renewable fat, oil and grease feedstock into high yields of drop-in hydrocarbon fuels. The ASTM standard provides that CHJ fuel may be blended at up to 50 per cent by volume with conventional jet fuel. The fuel process represents the sixth approved pathway for the production of SAF. Read more ...
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The European aviation sector must come together to work on a net zero goal, says airport industry leader
Fri 31 Jan 2020 - The aviation sector in Europe is facing a daunting challenge over climate change and there is a need to go beyond the industry's current emissions goals with an ambition to collectively achieve net zero over the long term, said Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, at last week's Aviation Sustainability Summit in Brussels organised by the airport trade body. The climate emergency was not only driving EU policy but also financial investors were starting to limit their exposure to the most carbon intensive industries and it was clear aviation was under the spotlight for its contribution to global warming, he said. Policies and regulations should be focused on decarbonising the sector but not reducing demand for the sake of it, he argued. Despite the sector's significant economic and social benefits, its fast-growing emissions meant aviation has no choice but to transform, Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said in a keynote address. Read more ...
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IATA and XCHG confirm partnership to develop an airline carbon exchange for CORSIA emission units
Thu 30 Jan 2020 - A partnership has been announced between IATA and Xpansiv CBL Holding Group (XCHG) to develop the Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) that will serve as a centralised marketplace for emission units eligible under ICAO's global carbon offsetting scheme CORSIA. Powered by CBL Markets, an XCHG company, the exchange will provide airlines with CORSIA offsetting obligations secure access to real-time data with full price transparency. CBL and IATA plan to trial the exchange during this first quarter of 2020 with airlines that want to start offsetting voluntary credits as a pilot phase. ACE trading will be supported by the IATA Settlement System and Clearing House and offer seamless and risk-free settlement to airlines, including non-IATA members. The partners say CORSIA eligible units will be listed on ACE once ICAO has published those accepted under the scheme. Read more ...
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UK public wrestles with environmental impact of aviation in face of mid-century net zero emissions target
Thu 30 Jan 2020 - A survey conducted by UK air navigation service provider NATS in conjunction with research consultancy ComRes shows that a large majority of the British public - 81 per cent - have a positive view of aviation to them personally and to the UK economy as a whole. However, the annual tracking survey also showed a growing public consciousness over aviation's environmental impact. Six select committees of the House of Commons have commissioned a citizens' assembly, called Climate Assembly UK, to give the public an informed say on how the UK should meet its net zero GHG emissions target by 2050, which will include deliberations on travel and aviation. To help achieve net zero through changes to land use, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change has suggested a levy on the aviation sector to help fund a substantial increase in tree planting. Read more ...
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Major European hybrid electric propulsion research project launches as Nordic electric aviation initiative gets Finavia boost
Wed 29 Jan 2020 - French aerospace research lab ONERA is to lead a consortium of 33 aviation industry and research stakeholders on a new European research project called IMOTHEP into hybrid electric propulsion for commercial aviation. The four-year initiative has received a €10.4 million ($11.5m) grant from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 framework programme. Meanwhile, Finnish airport operator Finavia is the latest to join the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation (NEA), an initiative to develop electric aviation in the region that is funded by Nordic Innovation, an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Finavia itself has been funding a fully electric aircraft since 2018, which had a successful test flight at Malmi Airport in Helsinki in the summer of that year. Following a first meeting held in Ostersund, Sweden, in December, NEA network members are meeting in Helsinki this week for a series of workshops. Read more ...
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French government announces launch of roadmap and deployment targets for a national sustainable aviation fuel industry
Mon 27 Jan 2020 - The French government has launched a roadmap to develop a national sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry with the aim of replacing fossil kerosene with 2 per cent of SAF from 2025, 5 per cent in 2030 and 50 per cent in 2050. This, says the government, is consistent with the country’s long-term low-carbon strategy. In December 2017, it signed a 'Commitment for Green Growth' with five industrial groups - Air France, Airbus, Safran, Total and Suez Environment - to define and collaborate on the roadmap. Alongside the roadmap, a Call for Expressions of Interest (CEI) has been opened by the Ministries of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Economy and Agriculture. It will determine the best tools to encourage the development of the new sector and identify and support innovative investment opportunities for advanced aviation fuels. Read more ...
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Airlines need to implement a wide range of initiatives to compensate for high growth in carbon emissions, recommends report
Thu 23 Jan 2020 - An analysis of leading international airlines has found initiatives to save emissions fall into 22 different categories of action, ranging from aircraft efficiency measures to improving flight operations, with the most notable being fleet renewal, retrofits and weight reductions. However, to compensate for the high growth in emissions, an airline would have to implement a large number of these measures year on year. Professor Susanne Becken of Griffith University, in collaboration with Amadeus, assessed the largest 58 airlines that make up 70 per cent of the industry's total available seat kilometres (ASKs). She found only 35 of them provided information on their emissions, which collectively showed an efficiency improvement of around 1 per cent in in 2018 compared to 2017. Becken highlights the need for improved public disclosure and reporting by the industry and calls for an acceleration of efforts to decarbonise the sector. Read more ...
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JetBlue follows European lead and becomes first US airline to offset CO2 emissions from its domestic flights
Fri 10 Jan 2020 - Low-cost airline JetBlue is to offset the CO2 emissions from all its domestic flights beginning in July, becoming the first major US airline to make the move. JetBlue said it expects to offset between 7 and 8 million tonnes of emissions annually through projects focused on but not limited to forestry, landfill gas capture and solar/wind projects. In Europe, Air France, British Airways and easyJet have begun offsetting their domestic emissions from January 1. With French partner EcoAct, Air France will offset the emissions of 450 flights per day, which carry around 57,000 passengers, through projects in South America, Africa and Asia, and will develop two projects in France. British Airways is undertaking a tender process to select offsetting partners and specific projects for its carbon neutral UK domestic flights initiative. Read more ...
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