UK government defers decision for four years on whether to include international aviation emissions in carbon budgets
Thu 20 Dec 2012 - The UK government has put off a decision on whether to include international aviation and shipping emissions in the country's carbon budgets until 2016. The budgets run in five-year intervals and the decision will not be made before the setting of the fifth carbon budget. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said that given the uncertainty of what was happening at the EU and global level over managing international aviation emissions it was sensible to defer the decision. The budgets are designed to ensure that the UK's overall carbon emissions reach a climate commitment to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. At present, domestic aviation and shipping emissions are included in the budgets, with international emissions informally included in the 2050 target. However, the government's climate change advisers had strongly recommended a formalisation and bring aviation and shipping into line with other industrial sectors. Read more ...
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Commission proposals to ease capacity crunch at European airports include measures on noise restrictions
Thu 20 Dec 2012 - EU MEPs have approved a 'Better Airports' package of measures proposed by the European Commission to help increase the capacity of Europe's airports, reduce delays and improve quality of services. Two of the three legislative measures concern slots and ground handling with the third focusing on noise-related restrictions at airports. The proposals, originally launched in December 2011, call for more transparency in the process of setting noise restrictions, including an oversight role for the Commission. Decisions on cutting noise levels should balance protection for residents living close to airports against the needs of those who wish to travel, in line with the 'Balanced Approach' international guidelines set at ICAO. The proposals also update existing legislation to take account of technological developments to make it easier for authorities to phase out the noisiest aircraft. Read more ...
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EU to contribute 10 million euros towards ITAKA supply chain project to develop European sustainable aviation fuels
Wed 19 Dec 2012 - Under its 7th Framework R&D Framework programme, the EU has granted nearly 10 million euros ($13m) to the ITAKA (Initiative Towards sustAinable Kerosene for Aviation) project, which aims to establish a European supply chain to produce sustainable aviation fuels primarily from oils from Spanish-grown camelina and also used cooking oil. Described as the first of its kind collaborative project in the EU, Finnish renewable fuel company Neste Oil will produce 4,000 tonnes of sustainable drop-in fuel to allow testing in existing logistic systems and in normal flight operations in the EU. The three-year project will likely cost over 17 million euros and will be coordinated by Spain's aeronautical and air navigation agency SENASA. Other members of the consortium include Airbus, EADS IW, Embraer, SkyNRG, Camelina Company Espana, BIOTEHGEN, CLH, EPFL, MMU and RE-CORD. Biofuel sustainability will be assessed against the EU-approved RSB EU RED standard. Read more ...
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Campaigners and Heathrow Airport collaborate to bring early morning noise respite to London residents
Wed 19 Dec 2012 - Flights arriving into Heathrow in the early morning are a source of disturbance for many residents across London and to the west of the airport. On average, around 17 flights arrive each morning between 04.30 and 06.00 and there is no set route as air traffic controllers look to achieve the safest and most efficient flight paths for aircraft. In partnership with British Airways, air traffic control company NATS and Heathrow anti-noise campaign group HACAN, London's Heathrow Airport has launched a trial to test whether creating noise relief zones for communities under the flight paths could ease the burden. Working with air traffic controllers at NATS, the Early Morning Noise Respite Trial will explore whether the flights, particularly at the beginning of their approach into Heathrow, can be routed in a more defined way, offering more predictability for residents living below. Read more ...
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Airlines could require $1.4 billion of carbon offsets annually to help achieve emissions reduction goals
Mon 17 Dec 2012 - The aviation sector has made good progress on reducing its average emissions intensity by 1.7 per cent each year since 2000, finds a new analysis by PwC. However, the global economy needs to cut carbon intensity by 5.1 per cent every year to 2050 in order to have a good chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees C, with every sector having to play a role in meeting this goal, including aviation. The sector's ambitious target of halving net emissions by 2050 on 2005 levels is though broadly consistent with the goal but with annual traffic growth of 5 per cent, this will be tough. Continued technological, operational and infrastructure improvements, the purchase of carbon offsets costing around 1.1 billion euros ($1.4bn) yearly until 2031 and rapidly increasing usage of low-carbon fuels will be required, says PwC. A global solution is needed and a failure to adopt a convincing global framework at ICAO later next year would risk re-igniting wider trade tensions, undermine meaningful efforts to reduce aviation carbon emissions and leave regulation in turmoil. Read more ...
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Delta joins The Climate Registry and successfully completes first verification of its GHG inventories
Fri 14 Dec 2012 - Following a successful verification of its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventories from 2005 to 2010, Delta Air Lines has joined The Climate Registry, a non-profit organisation that operates the only carbon footprint registry in North America supported by states, provinces, territories and tribes. Registered companies demonstrate environmental leadership by identifying and managing their greenhouse gas risks and opportunities. Delta is the first legacy carrier to meet the requirements of the registry and joins Virgin America as the only two airlines so far in the programme. Delta has lowered its annual absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6 million tonnes since 2005, a 17 per cent reduction in six years. This is despite a 1 per cent increase in GHG emissions in 2011 compared with the previous year due to a 0.8 per cent increase in available seat miles flown by mainline and regional aircraft. The airline is working with The Climate Registry to establish a 2015 GHG emissions goal. Read more ...
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American Airlines and DFW Airport form sustainability alliance to coordinate environmental initiatives
Wed 12 Dec 2012 - American Airlines and its largest hub airport Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) have formed the Sustainability Alliance to identify opportunities that can improve their collective environmental footprint. A formalised council has been set up through the alliance to provide a forum for better coordination of environmental initiatives that will enhance the ability of the airline and airport to become more sustainable. Last week, the two partners hosted a 'Flying Sustainably' Expo at DFW to showcase their joint and individual environmental projects, with experts and programme leaders from the airline on hand to share background information and successful initiatives. American's Corporate Environmental Department and DFW recently worked together to expand the airline’s onboard recycling programme. Read more ...
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EU looks to broaden EU ETS inclusion of international flights from 2014 as it lays out expectations for a global agreement
Tue 11 Dec 2012 - Agreement on one of three market-based measures (MBMs) under consideration at ICAO together with a global framework that has the EU regulating outbound international flights in the EU ETS from 2014 are key aims EU officials will be pressing for in the lead up to next year's ICAO Assembly. To diffuse tensions within the ongoing negotiating process in ICAO and in recognition of the progress being made, the European Commission last month proposed to temporarily 'stop the clock' on reporting and compliance obligations on flights to or from airports in third countries and European airports. The EU appears to accept that a global MBM may not be formally adopted until the following Assembly in 2016, with full implementation possibly not until 2020, so is expecting the Assembly to agree a framework that is in line with states applying MBMs of their own to international aviation until the global MBM comes into force. The first meeting of the High-level Group set up by the ICAO Council to look at complex policy and political elements of MBMs gets underway this week. Read more ...
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Commission requests swift decision on EU ETS suspension proposal as Obama passes prohibition bill
Fri 30 Nov 2012 - After announcing it would be "stopping the clock" for one year of enforcing the EU ETS on international flights to and from Europe so as to allow ICAO to move forward on developing a global agreement regulating international aviation emissions, the European Commission has published its proposal for a Decision by EU member states and the European Parliament. The Decision temporarily defers enforcement of the EU ETS in respect of incoming and outgoing flights to Europe for one year, pending the outcome of the ICAO Assembly next September. Flights between EEA states, including their dependent territories, plus flights between EEA countries and Switzerland and Croatia are still covered by the scheme and all aircraft operators, regardless of nationality, conducting such flights will still be required to comply with MRV and surrender the necessary allowances by next April. Meanwhile, President Obama signed into law this week the EU ETS Prohibition Act giving the US Secretary of Transportation the authority to prohibit US aircraft operators from taking part in the scheme. Read more ...
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British Airways pledges 10-year offtake agreement as GreenSky project with Solena gathers momentum
Fri 30 Nov 2012 - The British Airways and Solena GreenSky London project to build a sustainable jet biofuel facility in East London is gaining momentum, say the two partners. They won't reveal the location but an exclusive option on a site for the facility and consent work has begun, with the aim of having it operational and in production by 2015. The airline has now confirmed its commitment to purchasing, at "market competitive" prices, the anticipated 50,000 tonnes of jet fuel produced annually by the plant for the next 10 years, which equates to around $500 million at today's price for conventional jet kerosene. Barclays has been appointed as advisor to explore the optimal funding through export credit agencies and the consortium providing the facility's key technology functions has also been announced. British Airways expects enough sustainable fuel be produced to power two per cent of its fleet departing from London Airports. Read more ...
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ICAO appoints 17 countries to new High-level Group to hammer out important policy issues on aviation MBMs
Wed 28 Nov 2012 - More details have been released of the High-level Group (HLG) that is being set up to primarily work on political and policy issues surrounding the controversial application of market-based measures (MBMs) to address international aviation emissions. Officials from 17 countries will form the group, representing all geographical regions of the world and include all the major aviation nations. The EU will be represented by Jos Delbeke, Director-General of the European Commission's DG Climate Action, and it is believed Todd Stern, the US Special Envoy for Climate Change, will act for the United States. The HLG will meet for the first time on December 12/13 and will provide recommendations to the ICAO Council and develop a draft resolution on climate change action for submission to the next ICAO Assembly that gets underway in September 2013. Read more ...
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The greening of airport aprons and taxiways gathers pace as industry and airlines seek new ways to reduce engine power
Mon 26 Nov 2012 - After four years in development, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Airbus have unveiled to airlines the TaxiBot semi-robotic pilot controlled vehicle that is designed to transport aircraft from the gate to the runway without using engine power during taxiing and so saving fuel and emissions. The two partners estimate taxiing will cost airlines around $8.5 billion in annual fuel costs by the end of the decade, which could be reduced to less than $3 billion through TaxiBot operations. They calculate this represents a potential reduction of around 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. There is growing awareness from both airlines and airports in the potential for reducing fuel and emissions from aircraft taxiing and KLM is the latest to express interest in WheelTug's onboard electric drive system that negates the need for aircraft engine power or tugs for pushback and taxi operations. Two other collaborations are also working on similar solutions to help save fuel, emissions and noise at airports. Read more ...
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China Airlines introduces new fuel efficiency improvement software and starts CO2 labelling of in-flight meals
Tue 20 Nov 2012 - Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) has signed a five-year agreement to use GE Aviation’s OnPoint Fuel & Carbon Solutions software and fuel consulting expertise to help the carrier improve its fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. By identifying and tracking operational improvements, CAL anticipates its fuel spend could be reduced by two to three per cent. With fuel accounting for around 30 per cent of annual expenses and an increasing necessity to comply with carbon regulations, airlines are increasingly turning to such management systems to help reduce both costs and emissions. In a separate move, CAL has started to label in-flight meals with their carbon footprint as well as calorie content on flights from Taipei to Frankfurt. The airline, which has declared 2012 as 'Eco Year', has also introduced a number of environmental and weight-saving initiatives on the route. Read more ...
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Airbus and EADS join Chinese venture to develop algae-based jet fuels, with demo flight planned for 2013
Fri 16 Nov 2012 - Airbus, EADS Innovation Works and leading Chinese bio-energy company ENN have signed a memorandum of understanding to partner in assessing the potential for developing alternative aviation fuels based on microalgae oils produced in China. The scope of the collaboration includes technical qualification of such fuels and to promote their use for aviation in China, one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets. ENN has developed one of the most advanced pilot plants in the world and is able to produce more than 10 tons of algae-based oil per year. An objective is after a technical assessment to plan test flights to take place in 2013 using oil supplied by ENN and afterwards look to scale up the alternative fuel production process to achieve sustainable quantities of aviation fuel for flight use. Read more ...
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Third wave of green flight trials to get underway in Europe as part of AIRE emissions reduction programme
Thu 15 Nov 2012 - A third series of green flight trials will start early next year under the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE) programme. AIRE was first launched in 2007 by the European Commission and the FAA to improve fuel efficiency on flights, lower engine emissions and reduce aircraft noise. Over 10,000 green commercial flights have so far been conducted and SESAR JU (Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking), which manages the European side of the programme, has announced nine new projects that will run until the end of 2014. These integrated flight trials will validate operational procedures to deliver and accelerate innovative air traffic management (ATM) best practices using modern aircraft technology. SESAR says the first two programmes have delivered significant savings of up to 3 per cent on fuel and CO2 emissions. Airbus and its ATM subsidiaries have been selected to take part in seven of the projects. Read more ...
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Despite EU concession, US Congress passes bill aiming to halt US airline compliance with EU carbon scheme
Wed 14 Nov 2012 - Less than 48 hours after the EU had announced it was suspending the inclusion of flights to and from Europe from the EU ETS, the US House approved a Senate version (S. 1956) of a bipartisan bill that aims to prevent US aircraft operators from complying with the EU legislation. The bill, which authorises the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit compliance if deemed in the public interest, was one of the first to be considered after the elections recess and now goes to the President for signature. An amendment by the Senate calls for pursuance through international negotiations of a worldwide approach to address aircraft emissions. Republican co-sponsors of the original House bill, John Mica and Tom Petri, said a positive outcome could still be achieved through ICAO, although Mica warned on the House floor yesterday that ICAO did not set US policy. The final passing of the EU ETS prohibition bill by Congress has been welcomed by US airline and aviation representatives, although US NGOs said the bill was superfluous and counterproductive. Read more ...
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European Commission backs down on EU ETS and agrees to 'stop the clock' on international aviation emissions
Mon 12 Nov 2012 - EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard announced this morning the EU will suspend enforcement of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to airlines flying to and from Europe in order to allow ICAO to continue its progress towards a global emissions reduction scheme. The EU ETS will continue to apply to intra-EU traffic so European carriers will still be required to monitor, report and verify their CO2 emissions on flights within the EU, and surrender the required allowances by 30 April 2013. However, Hedegaard made clear that the suspension of the scheme applying to international flights would automatically be lifted in a year's time if ICAO failed to deliver an agreement on "meaningful international action" over aviation emissions. The move comes after what the EU sees as significant progress at Friday's meeting of ICAO's governing Council, which agreed to set up a High-level group of 15 senior government representatives to provide guidance on policy issues to the expert group currently working on market-based measure (MBM) options and an implementation framework. (updated Nov 13) Read more ...
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Virgin Atlantic says 2020 carbon target on track as new aircraft and fuel efficiency measures deliver savings
Fri 9 Nov 2012 - Virgin Atlantic says it is on track to meet its target to reduce CO2 emissions per revenue-tonne kilometre (RTK) by 30 per cent by 2020 from 2007 levels. Actual aircraft emissions rose from 4.516 million tonnes of CO2 in the 2010/11 financial year to 4.617 million in 2011/12 as a result of the airline's growing business although lower load factors due to the economic recession had an adverse impact on the amount of CO2 emitted per RTK. According to its latest sustainability report, Virgin Atlantic projects total emissions will peak and start to reduce from 2015/16 as new Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners join the fleet. The recent implementation of OSyS fuel efficiency software is forecast to further reduce CO2 emissions by 100,000 tonnes per year and save almost £20 million ($30m) in fuel costs. The airline also revealed that it hopes to carry out a demo flight in 2013 using sustainable biofuel supplied through its partnership with LanzaTech. Read more ...
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Airbus wins UK noise abatement award for the A380 and its innovations in quiet technology
Wed 7 Nov 2012 - The news is unlikely to thrill environmental activists fighting moves to expand airport runway capacity around London but Airbus has been presented with a top annual award by the UK's national noise reduction charity, the Noise Abatement Society (NAS). The award recognises the Airbus A380 superjumbo for its innovations in quiet technology and reduced noise around airport communities. Airbus says there will be 10 daily A380 flights to Heathrow by the end of the year, which has the strictest noise regulations of any airport worldwide that are the benchmark on which noise measurement for aircraft is based. The aircraft manufacturer claims the A380 will be the quietest long-haul aircraft for the foreseeable future, generating only half the noise on departure and up to four times less noise on landing compared with some other large long-haul aircraft, while carrying 40 per cent more passengers. Read more ...
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Failure to solve US aviation dispute with Europe over EU ETS would pose enormous international trade and climate risks
Wed 7 Nov 2012 - The United States dispute with Europe over the inclusion of its carriers in the EU ETS is a test case on a matter of truly historic importance, says a policy brief from Washington, DC-based consultancy Climate Advisers. Failure to reach a solution would pose enormous risks not only for transatlantic trade relations but also for the global climate and trade systems. Many of the perceptions over the "transatlantic turbulence" have rested on a number of myths in the US, say the authors. They warn policymakers that in their attempts to protect the nation's airlines, the United States risks establishing a trade principle it will deeply regret later. With Europe, the US and the major emerging economies led by China far apart on when aviation emissions should be capped, there is little evidence that the 15-year stalemate at ICAO is likely to be broken in favour of a global consensus solution "any time soon", they add, and the US and Europe should seek a bilateral agreement. Read more ...
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Changes at CAAFI as leadership team strengthened to accelerate expansion of alternative aviation fuels
Fri 2 Nov 2012 - After six years in the pilot's seat at the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), Executive Director Rich Altman is handing over control to Steve Csonka, formerly Director of Environmental Strategy at GE Aviation. Altman will continue as a member of the CAAFI leadership team as Executive Director Emeritus, focusing on US East Coast initiatives and implementation of private/public work plans developed under the umbrella of US bilateral agreements recently signed with Australia and Germany. CAAFI is a coalition of airlines, manufacturers and airports, along with the FAA Office of Environment and Energy. It has grown to over 600 stakeholder contributors including over 60 fuel producers and nearly a dozen US government agencies dedicated to introducing sustainable fuels to the aviation industry, and has entered into international bilateral agreements with countries on three continents. Read more ...
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Gulfstream flies in on advanced biofuels to make a green entrance at major aviation show
Fri 2 Nov 2012 - Gulfstream's full fleet of demonstration business jet aircraft were flown earlier this week from their Savannah, Georgia base to the NBAA convention in Orlando, Florida on blended biofuel supplied by Honeywell's UOP. The five aircraft used Honeywell Green Jet Fuel sourced from oils from camelina, an inedible plant grown in the US northwest where it is rotated with wheat. It was blended 50/50 with conventional fuel and produced using Honeywell's UOP Renewable Jet Fuel process. Based on life-cycle analysis studies, Honeywell claims its camelina-based fuel burns 68 per cent fewer CO2 emissions than petroleum-based jet fuel. Depending on the feedstock, the fuel can offer between a 65 and 85 per cent reduction in GHG emissions. Gulfstream says the use of biofuels is part of a multipronged approach it is taking towards sustainability and improving aircraft efficiencies. Read more ...
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Environmental efficiency initiatives rewarded as NATS targets improvements in UK flight performance
Thu 1 Nov 2012 - UK air traffic management services provider NATS has received the Best Environmental Initiative award from the Airport Operators’ Association for its Flight Profile Monitor (FPM) system. FPM enables airports and airlines that have previously had little or no information about the environmental performance of arriving and departing aircraft to use data to support the drive to reduce noise and CO2 emissions. Initial results from a trial at Edinburgh Airport estimated a 20 per cent improvement in continuous descent approaches could be achieved, which would save an estimated 8,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. NATS is also to take part in trials with British Airways to carry out a series of environmentally 'perfect' flights from London Heathrow across the North Atlantic over the course of four months. Meanwhile, the ANSP says latest data relating to its 3DI flight efficiency metric shows it is on course to meet its environmental target for 2012. Read more ...
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First civil aircraft flight to use unblended sustainable jet biofuel carried out by Canadian government researchers
Tue 30 Oct 2012 - The first flight of a civil jet aircraft powered by 100 per cent unblended biofuel was undertaken yesterday by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) from Ottawa International Airport. As well as a symbolic milestone, the test flight of NRC's Falcon 20 was conducted as part of a programme to better understand the environmental impact of biofuel. A second NRC aircraft, a T-33, tailed the Falcon in flight to collect valuable information on the emissions generated by the biofuel for analysis by research experts and preliminary results are expected to be released in the coming weeks. The drop-in ReadiJet fuel was produced using Agrisoma's Resonance Energy Feedstock, a dedicated industrial oilseed developed from the non-food Brassica carinata crop that was launched at commercial scale earlier this year across a broad region of western Canada. Read more ...
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Finnair's pursuit of excellence pays off with entry into global climate change business leadership index
Tue 30 Oct 2012 - With a rating of 92 out of 100, Finnair has scored "excellent" in the newly released Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Nordic Report 2012, making it one of the annual survey's top companies as well as the first airline to be placed in CDP's Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI). Finnair has participated since 2007 and in recent years has seen its rating climb to its present industry-leading level from 61 in 2010 and 78 in 2011. CDP compiles the world's only global climate change reporting system, gathering company environmental data on behalf of 655 institutional investors across the world that manage around $78 trillion in assets. More than 4,000 organisations - sadly not many in the aviation sector - in 72 countries measure and disclose their GHG emissions, water management and climate change strategies. Other air transport-related companies in the Nordic index include SAS, which earned a rating of 69, and Copenhagen Airports achieving a rating of 58. Read more ...
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MIT study shows growth in UK premature deaths from airport pollution could be reduced by moving London's main hub
Mon 29 Oct 2012 - Around 110 people in the UK die early each year due to lung cancer and cardiopulmonary diseases caused as a result of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions from airports, finds a report released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Even without airport capacity expansion, it estimates the number is projected to rise to 250 by 2030. With nearly half the early deaths being attributed to emissions from London Heathrow, a decision on whether to add a third runway at the hub or build a new airport east of London would significantly impact on the number of early deaths. The findings come as a fierce debate over capacity in the south-east of the UK continues with the owners of Gatwick Airport claiming a new second runway at the airport would have a lower environmental impact than an additional runway at Heathrow. The MIT report concludes that due to prevailing winds, a new hub in the Thames estuary makes better public health sense. Read more ...
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FAA to set up a Center of Excellence to study aviation environmental impacts and alternative jet fuels
Wed 24 Oct 2012 - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is to form a Center of Excellence (COE) for Environment and Energy next year with the aim of conducting a broad range of study areas including aircraft noise and emissions, environmental policy and alternative jet fuels research. The COE will be a consortium of the FAA, university partners and private industry affiliates selected by the FAA Administrator to work collectively on business and operational issues. The FAA anticipates the COE will attract interest from organisations such as the airline industry, other industrial groups, airport authorities and other governmental entities to solve what it describes as various unique and difficult aviation problems related to environment and energy. Earlier this month, the FAA announced $5.4 million in grants to 13 US airports that are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment. Read more ...
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First research project by new Chinese technology centre to focus on converting used cooking oil to jet fuel
Wed 24 Oct 2012 - The first aviation biofuel research project has been announced by the newly-formed joint venture between Boeing and Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC. The research, to be conducted by Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology (HEET), will focus on ways to convert discarded cooking oil into a component of sustainable aviation biofuel. It aims to identify contaminants in such oils as well as processes that may be used to clean them for use as jet fuel. China annually consumes 29 million tons of cooking oil, while its aviation system uses 20 million tons of jet fuel. The work will be carried out at the new Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center that opened in August at COMAC's Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute (BASTRI). Read more ...
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UK government uncertainty over whether to include international aviation emissions in carbon budgets
Tue 23 Oct 2012 - With emissions from aviation and shipping likely to make up a quarter of the total UK output by 2050, it would be impossible to achieve national climate objectives without including the two sectors in reduction targets, the head of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) told a House of Commons select committee last week. Under the UK's flagship Climate Change Act 2008, the UK government is required to tell Parliament before the end of 2012 whether it intends to include the sectors' international emissions in its legally binding carbon budgets but it is yet to reach a conclusion. Representatives from the UK aviation and shipping industries told MPs they were comfortable with the inclusion but a government minister and officials said the issue was complex and were equivocal about what decision would be made, which has left environmental groups unhappy. A possible scenario could be for the government to accept inclusion of international aviation emissions in principle but wait on developments with the EU ETS and at ICAO. Read more ...
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Alaska Airlines claims US airline fuel efficiency leadership after 30 per cent improvement over eight years
Mon 15 Oct 2012 - Despite an increase in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions between 2009 and 2011, Alaska Airlines decreased the intensity of its carbon emissions by 7.8 per cent and sister airline Horizon Air by 13.4 per cent during the period. Total carbon emissions from the airline group have decreased 3.2 per cent in the past eight years, even though business rose by over 27 per cent, with fuel efficiency improving 30 per cent. The figures are contained in Alaska Air Group's 2012 Sustainability Report, which summarises the company's progress in 2010 and 2011. Measured in fuel per revenue passenger miles, Alaska Airlines claims it is the most efficient domestic carrier in the United States as a result of aircraft replacements over the past several years and the adoption of other fuel-saving measures such as winglets and weight reductions. The two airlines' inflight recycling programmes saw more than 800 tons of inflight waste being diverted from landfills last year. Read more ...
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Florida NextGen satellite-based airspace initiative launched to provide quicker, safer and greener flying
Fri 12 Oct 2012 - A collaborative initiative involving the aviation industry and the FAA is underway to improve air traffic flows and cut travel times, aircraft emissions and noise on flights in the Miami, Orlando and Tampa metropolitan areas. The Metroplex initiative is based on Performance-Based Navigation (PBN), a key component of the FAA's NextGen air traffic modernisation programme, which enables pilots to fly using satellite coverage. A metroplex is a region with several airports serving major areas where heavy airport activity and environmental constraints combine to hinder the efficient movement of traffic. The FAA estimates that more direct routings and more efficient descents into the Florida Metroplex will save eight million gallons of fuel annually, which equates to a reduction in carbon emissions of nearly 80,000 tonnes. Read more ...
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Swedavia achieves "ultimate goal" as it becomes the world's first carbon neutral national airport group
Thu 11 Oct 2012 - Sweden's national airport operator Swedavia has become the first national airport group to achieve carbon neutrality across its 10 airports. To attain 'Neutrality' certification under the Airport Carbon Accreditation voluntary programme, Swedavia's airports have had to reduce CO2 emissions, engage with airport stakeholders to reduce their own CO2 emissions and then purchase carbon offsets for any remaining CO2 emissions under their control. Initially launched in June 2009 by airports association ACI Europe, the independent and institutionally-endorsed programme has now accredited 67 airports, which together handle over half of all European air traffic. Last year, it gained the support of ICAO and was expanded to the Asia-Pacific region, where five airports are now accredited. Meanwhile, Bournemouth and East Midlands airports have become the UK's first to achieve carbon neutral ground operations. Read more ...
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India’s first-ever annual report on the carbon footprint of its aviation industry shows a 6 per cent CO2 increase in 2011
Thu 11 Oct 2012 - India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has presented its first 'The Carbon Footprint of Indian Aviation' report, which is part of its strategy of developing a sustainable aviation framework for the country's fast-growing air transport sector. The report shows that from combined Indian domestic and international scheduled airline operations, 12.7 million tonnes of CO2 were emitted in 2011, a 6 per cent increase in comparison with 2010. Foreign airlines serving international destinations from Indian airports emitted 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 last year, based on local fuel uplift. DGCA's Director General, Arun Mishra, said the authority was committed to annual reporting of India's aviation footprint, providing workshops for airlines and airports on climate change and formulating a "realistic" climate change policy for the sector. Read more ...
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Carbon offsetting rather than emissions trading becoming favoured route as ICAO looks towards a global scheme
Fri 5 Oct 2012 - As ICAO expert groups continue their work on a global market-based approach to limiting the growth of international aviation emissions, it is beginning to emerge that carbon offsetting, rather than emissions trading, is the favoured option for States and industry. Emissions trading is technically the correct instrument but offsetting could be an interim approach on the road to a global emissions trading scheme, believes British Airways' Environment Policy Manager, Andy Kershaw. However, difficult challenges still face the ICAO process and will require strong political will to achieve an agreement by the time of its Assembly later next year, he told a Brussels conference. At the same conference, Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation, called on the EU to halt its unilateral inclusion of foreign airlines into its carbon emissions scheme and give the ICAO process a chance. According to reports, Saudi Arabia has joined China and India in instructing its national airline not to comply with the EU ETS legislation. Read more ...
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CF Partners and ETS Aviation establish partnership to offer airlines easy access to the carbon market
Fri 5 Oct 2012 - Increased demand from airlines and aircraft operators for EU Aviation Allowances (EUAAs) to meet their compliance obligations under the EU ETS has led to the forming of a strategic partnership between ETS Aviation and London commodities trading house CF Partners. Under the partnership, ETS Aviation, a specialist in fuel-efficiency programmes and emissions data management, has set up the Carbon Exchanger service to provide easy access to the carbon market for operators, irrespective of their size and the volume of credits they are looking to trade. As operators approach the 30 April 2013 deadline by which date they must surrender credits to cover their 2012 emissions, CF Partners says it has seen a significant increase over recent months in its activity in the carbon market. Read more ...
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Canadian researchers to carry out first-ever civil aircraft test flight to use 100 per cent jet biofuel
Tue 2 Oct 2012 - A joint initiative involving the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is paving the way for the first-ever civil aircraft flight to use 100 per cent unblended jet biofuel. A twin-engined Falcon 20 aircraft belonging to NRC will use fuel derived from Canadian-grown Brassica carinata supplied by Agrisoma Biosciences. The Resonance brand industrial oilseed non-food crop is ideally suited for production in semi-arid regions such as the Canadian southern Prairies, says Agrisoma. More than 40 commercial growers in Western Canada were contracted this year to grow over 6,000 acres (2,400ha) of the crop that will be used to create the fuel for the engine performance and emissions flight testing. Canada's first revenue biofuel flight conducted by Porter Airlines in April used a blend that contained one per cent of fuel made from Agrisoma's feedstock. Read more ...
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Airlines look to software solutions to help improve fuel efficiency and aid EU ETS carbon emissions reporting
Tue 2 Oct 2012 - The majority of airlines are not tracking their fuel performance accurately and when you consider fuel represents around 40 per cent of their operating costs, that is remarkable, says Ian Britchford, Director of Fuel Saving at ETS Aviation. However, this is beginning to change and his company is one a of a number of providers of fuel efficiency and data management software that have recently been selected by airlines to help optimise fuel usage and also manage EU ETS reporting requirements. During the summer, low-cost carrier easyJet has chosen ETS Aviation's Aviation Footprinter emissions data management system, whilst Virgin Atlantic has contracted with Rolls-Royce subsidiary OSyS for its Fuel Management Solution. Zurich-based Aviaso, meanwhile, reports that Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium has achieved fuel savings of 2.1 per cent over the past eighteen months since using its fuel efficiency software. Read more ...
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International renewable jet fuel value chain integrators join forces to develop feedstocks and commercial opportunities
Mon 1 Oct 2012 - Two jet biofuel companies, JATRO and BioJet, have announced a collaboration agreement on feedstock development and commercialisation efforts. The strategic alliance is intended to create a mutually beneficial business operation across global markets to drive the commercialisation of sustainable plant oil and biokerosene production. Having originally started as an aviation biofuel jatropha feedstock developer, JATRO's activities now span the whole biofuel value chain, from the breeding and selection of suitable feedstock through refining, logistics, sustainability certification to end use by the aviation sector worldwide. BioJet too spans the entire biofuel chain and its operations span 10 countries. In January, BioJet signed an agreement with native American tribes concerning feedstock generation and refining operations to provide biofuels for airlines and ground transportation in the western United States. Read more ...
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Airbus and Sinopec agree to partner on supporting alternative fuels development and standards in China
Mon 1 Oct 2012 - Airbus and Chinese fuel producer China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, known as Sinopec, are to collaborate in developing sustainable alternative aviation fuels for the Chinese domestic airline market and assist in establishing certification standards for fuels made from locally grown feedstocks. Airbus said it was supporting the standards process in China with the technical expertise gained from its experience with EU and US fuels standards bodies and also would help in the selection of sustainable feedstocks. Following laboratory research it has been carrying out since 2009, Sinopec announced in March that it had successfully produced 70 tonnes of its jet biofuel over the previous three months at its Hangzhou refinery near Shanghai, made from a variety of animal fat and vegetable oils using Sinopec's hydrogenation technology, catalyst system and production procedures. It said the plant was capable of supplying 6,000 tonnes annually after key breakthroughs it had achieved. Read more ...
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European research on green aerospace technologies boosted by new action roadmap and Clean Sky extension
Fri 28 Sept 2012 - A far-reaching research and innovation roadmap setting out the actions that will be required to meet the demands of European air transport by the middle of the century has been launched. Described as the beginning of a new era for aerospace research in Europe, the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) will guide the future direction of public and private research towards the achievement of the 'Flightpath 2050' vision that addresses the challenges of meeting a sustainable and world-leading air transport system. One of the five key challenges identified is protecting the environment and the energy supply, and how to deliver the ambitious targets set under the ACARE 2050 vision for reducing CO2 and NOx emissions and perceived aircraft noise. Fourteen leading aerospace industry and research organisations have also signed an agreement that will see the EU Clean Sky programme extended until 2020. Read more ...
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Senate unanimously passes bill to protect US airlines from EU ETS but elections will slow down progress
Mon 24 Sept 2012 - In the early hours of Saturday morning, the US Senate passed the bipartisan S. 1956 bill that gives power to the US Secretary of Transportation to prohibit the nation's civil aircraft operators from participating in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. A similar bill (H.R. 2594) has already passed through the House but because of Senate amendments the bill must now go back to the House for approval. However, both are now in recess until after the congressional and presidential elections on November 6 and the legislation, if passed, will then require presidential signature. The amendments call for a reassessment of prohibition in the event the EU amends its own Directive, an international agreement to address aircraft emissions is reached or if the United States enacts its own rules to address the issue. Trade body Airlines for America (A4A) commended the successful passage of the bill through the Senate while EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard welcomed the bill's call for pursuance of a global deal but said the US would need to change its approach in ICAO. Read more ...
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Lufthansa turns to algae and municipal solid waste in quest for new sources of sustainable jet biofuel
Fri 21 Sept 2012 - In its quest to secure new sources of sustainable jet biofuel, Lufthansa has signed agreements with Solena Fuels and Australian-based Algae.Tec. Solena has already identified a site in north-east Germany for its first production facility. The project will be the first of its kind in Central Europe to provide synthetic biofuels from large-scale waste from landfills and incinerators. It will provide Lufthansa with drop-in, certified jet fuel for prospective use on commercial flights. Solena says an announcement on progress concerning its proposed London project with British Airways is imminent. Algae.Tec's collaborative deal with Lufthansa involves the construction of a large-scale plant in Europe to produce aviation biofuel from algae. Both companies took part in the Alternative Aviation Fuels Pavilion at the ILA Air Show in Berlin last week, along with other biofuel producers including natural gas to jet fuel technology company Primus Green Energy. Read more ...
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German aerospace researchers say an all-electric, zero-emissions commercial airliner feasible by 2035
Thu 20 Sept 2012 - Perceived industry wisdom holds that commercial aircraft will be powered by liquid fuels for the foreseeable future, at least until the middle of century. However, respected aviation research think tank Bauhaus Luftfahrt believes advances in battery technology could make an all-electric, emissions-free 190-seat passenger airliner feasible by 2035. Dubbed the Ce-Liner, the aircraft's electric motive power system would come from 16 conventional LD3-size containers containing the necessary battery power to supply two rear-mounted electric motors. Also crucial to the airliner design are aerodynamically-efficient, inboard-facing C-wings that offer enhanced performance while keeping within the wingspan constraints imposed by airport gates. Bauhaus claims the range of the aircraft will reach 900 nautical miles, which it says would cover 79 per cent of all predicted flights operated by aircraft in this size category in 2035. Airbus too has looked into the future and unveiled a vision of what 'smarter skies' technology could be in place by 2050 to meet environmental targets. Read more ...
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Airberlin targets three litre fuel consumption within five years to maintain its eco-efficiency leadership
Tue 18 Sept 2012 - Germany's second-largest airline airberlin achieved a fuel efficiency of 3.5 litres per 100 passenger kilometres flown in 2011 compared to the industry’s scheduled airline average of 4.7. Launching the publication of the airline's first sustainability report yesterday, airberlin CEO Hartmut Mehdorn said the airline had been a pioneer on climate and environmental protection issues and was a role model for the industry. At an average age of 5.3 years, compared to the IATA average of just under 14 years, Airberlin has one of the youngest fleets for a full-service scheduled airline in Europe, he said, and from 2001 was an early adopter of fuel-saving winglets on its aircraft. The carrier has also introduced a programme in which 60 of its pilots are being trained as 'fuel coaches'. Mehdorn criticised national and EU politicians over aviation taxes that reduced the competitiveness of EU carriers and the lack of progress on the Single European Sky. Read more ...
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Germany and the US strengthen ties to develop alternative aviation fuels with intergovernmental agreement
Fri 14 Sept 2012 - The German and United States governments this week signed an agreement to cooperate on further development of alternative aviation fuels. The agreement will focus on harmonising sustainability standards, working towards approval for new processes, expanding the availability of raw materials and commercialisation. It will also strengthen the growing relationship between the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), the US industry, research and government agency coalition, and its German equivalent aireg. Joachim Buse, aireg Vice-President and responsible for Lufthansa's biofuel programme, said an aim of aireg was to see sustainable biofuel making up 10 per cent of total jet fuel consumption in Germany by 2025. The signing took place at the ILA Berlin Air Show, where aireg and CAAFI held a high-ranking conference to discuss the future of alternative aviation fuels. Read more ...
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EU states deny reports that their Airbus ministers seek suspension of EU ETS until ICAO agreement
Thu 13 Sept 2012 - Reports by Reuters and other media that government officials from the four EU states that have a stake in Airbus aircraft manufacturing - the so-called 'Airbus ministers' - are seeking a suspension of the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) have been described as inaccurate by two of the governments concerned. According to the reports, British and German junior ministers attending a meeting at this week's ILA Berlin Air Show, along with their French and Spanish counterparts, will urge their governments to push for a suspension until the next ICAO Assembly in September 2013, when a global agreement on carbon emissions is hoped to be reached. The ministers have been persuaded that the threat of retaliatory action by countries opposed to the application of the EU ETS to their airlines, such as China, could lead to a loss of lucrative Airbus orders. Read more ...
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Boeing and Airbus set up research projects that will aim to convert China's used cooking oil to jet fuel
Thu 13 Sept 2012 - Boeing and Airbus have each announced research projects to exploit China's vast used cooking oil reserves as a potential source of sustainable aviation biofuel for use in the region. China annually consumes around 29 million tons of cooking oil, while its aviation system uses 20 million tons of jet fuel. According to Boeing, finding ways to convert discarded used cooking oil (UCO), called 'gutter oil' in China, could enhance regional biofuel supplies and improve affordability. The Boeing project is the first to be undertaken by the recently opened energy conservation technology centre it has set up with Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC. Airbus has formed a partnership with Tsinghua University to complete a sustainability analysis of Chinese feedstocks, including UCO, and to evaluate the development of a value chain in the country. Read more ...
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US environmental NGOs respond with their own letter to US Administration over ICAO Article 84
Mon 6 Aug 2012 - Following a letter from aviation and travel industry groups last week urging the US government to file an Article 84 action at ICAO over the imposition of the EU ETS on US airlines and aircraft operators, 16 US environmental NGOs have written to President Obama asking him to reject the call. The NGOs argue that a filing of the formal legal proceeding would undermine the Administration's efforts in achieving a framework at ICAO to limit global warming pollution from international aviation. Far from enhancing ICAO's ability to achieve meaningful results, an Article 84 would disrupt attempts at ICAO to accelerate that process, say the NGOs, which add the EU's scheme was the one lever that had brought States together for the first time to engage seriously at ICAO. Read more ...
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NATS on course to hit first annual environmental performance target set by its world-first flight efficiency metric
Fri 3 Aug 2012 - The UK's air navigation service provider (ANSP) NATS has released the latest results of its performance data under its 3Di flight efficiency metric introduced in January. During its first six months in operation - to June - 3Di has achieved an indexed score of 24, as based on the scale set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Scores range from 0, which represents zero inefficiency to over 100, with most flights typically in the range between 15 and 35. The CAA has set a target indexed score, or par value, of 24 for 2012 and 2013 so NATS is on track to meet its required performance target for this year. Under the scheme, a world first, NATS stands to be financially rewarded for exceeding the target or penalised for failing to deliver the expected efficiency gains. The 3Di tool is designed to deliver 600,000 tonnes of CO2 savings over the next three years – the equivalent to 10,000 flights from London to New York, says NATS. Read more ...
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Washington meeting reaffirms opposition to EU ETS and commits to ICAO progress but a global MBM some way off
Thu 2 Aug 2012 - The 17 countries attending the meeting held in Washington that concluded yesterday have reaffirmed their opposition to the application of the EU ETS to non-EU carriers and say they remain committed to the actions to reduce international aviation emissions agreed in the ICAO Assembly Resolution A37-19 of 2010. They said significant steps have been taken since then in implementing the resolution and they intended to move forward, nationally and in ICAO, on elements such as the aspirational 2020 carbon-neutral growth goal and the "appropriate role" of market-based measures. However, in a briefing afterwards, a senior US Administration official present at the meeting said the 2010 resolution did not call for the production of such a measure, only to explore the feasibility, and he believed it would take "a substantial period of time" before a global measure could be agreed and there was no basis for expecting an agreement by the 2013 Assembly. No plans had been taken by the US to file an Article 84 complaint at ICAO over the EU scheme, he said. Read more ...
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Senate bill to block US airlines and aircraft operators from EU ETS compliance takes major step forward
Wed 1 Aug 2012 - A confrontation between the United States and Europe over the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has moved a step closer with the unanimous approval by a US Senate Committee of legislation that aims to block US airlines and aircraft operators from participating in the scheme. The S.1956 bipartisan bill does not automatically enact the prohibition but instead provides the Secretary of Transportation with the authority to do so if considered in the public interest and taking into account other impacts. In order to satisfy some potential Committee members who were not entirely supportive, notably Democrat Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, the bill has been amended to direct US officials to conduct international negotiations "to pursue a worldwide approach to address aircraft emissions". With a similar bill having already been approved in the House of Representatives, the bill now passes to the Senate floor, where its sponsors intend to press for a quick passage. Read more ...
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European airlines criticise moves to artificially inflate price of carbon allowances under EU ETS auction proposal
Tue 31 July 2012 - The Association of European Airlines (AEA), which represents 33 European network carriers, has condemned proposals by the European Commission to change the timing of EU ETS allowance auctions in an effort to boost a flagging carbon price, which has now fallen below the seven euro mark. By delaying auctions of Phase III (2013-20) allowances until later in the period, the Commission is hoping to stem the flood of surplus allowances in a market that is already oversupplied. However, the AEA argues that this interference fundamentally changes the principles of a trading scheme defined as a market-based measure. It claims the proposal, announced by Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard last week, would have a further detrimental effect on European airlines already forecasted to lose 1.5 billion euros this year. Read more ...
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Change of direction promised by US as talks start in Washington of countries opposed to international aviation inclusion in EU ETS
Tue 31 July 2012 - The third meeting of countries opposed to the inclusion of the airlines into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) starts today in Washington DC with a pledge by a senior US Administration official that the tone will different on this occasion. Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said the purpose would be to try to explore whether there might be a basis for a global solution on aviation greenhouse gas emissions. He said an aspirational goal had been agreed at ICAO in 2010 of limiting the growth of emissions from 2020 and should a global solution be found, the EU would have to set aside its scheme in the near term. The two-day meeting is expected to be attended by 16 so far unnamed countries, down from the 26 that attended the first meeting in Delhi last September. The EU's Climate Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, challenged the countries to come up with concrete proposals for a substantial reduction in aviation emissions. Meanwhile, a US Senate hearing today will decide the next step in progress of a bill to prohibit US carriers from participating in the EU ETS. Read more ...
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Qantas to purchase carbon credits from major conservation and biodiversity project in Australia
Mon 30 July 2012 - The Qantas Group is to purchase carbon credits generated by an Australian conservation project to support the Qantas and Jetstar customer carbon offset programmes. From July 2013, Qantas will be able to use purchased credits to meet part of its liability under the Australian carbon price system that came into force at the beginning of this month. Qantas has partnered with R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings, which with Australian government support now owns and manages the 500,000-hectare Henbury Station, a former pastoral property 130km south of Alice Springs. The property has been transformed from cattle farming to 'carbon farming' under which an emerging carbon economy will be used to fund nature conservation. Henbury is part of Australia's National Reserve System and the Northern Territory government's Territory Eco-Link programme. Read more ...
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Canadian athletes power their way to the London Olympics on jet biofuel
Fri 27 July 2012 - Canadian team members bound for the London 2012 Olympic Games have travelled from Montreal on an Air Canada biofuel-powered flight of an Airbus A330. Twenty per cent of the fuel used to power the Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered engines contained a 50/50 blend of conventional jet kerosene mixed with recycled cooking oil supplied by Dutch company SkyNRG. Last month, Air Canada conducted its first biofuel flight between Toronto and Mexico City as part of a series of commercial biofuel flights that took the ICAO Secretary-General to the Rio+20 sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro. The organisers of the London Games, which formally open today, have promised them to be the most sustainable ever. Read more ...
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Commitment to sustainability is a vital part of becoming the world's best airline, says Cathay Pacific in new report
Fri 27 July 2012 - Integrating environmental thinking into the business strategy has been adopted as a key company-wide project by Cathay Pacific's new Chief Executive, John Slosar, who took over last year. The airline group's latest Sustainable Development Report just published says the company faces challenges on its sustainability journey and projected increases in its emissions cannot be left unchecked. In 2011, CO2 emissions by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair increased by 4.5 per cent to around 15.85 million tonnes, which the airline says is in line with its operational growth. Fuel and CO2 efficiency performance across the fleet improved on the previous year on an available tonne kilometre (ATK) basis but declined when measured by revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) due to lower load factors in a difficult year for the group. Cathay is in the process of renewing its long-range passenger fleet with 50 new Boeing 777-300ERs and 32 Airbus A350s expected by 2019. Read more ...
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Etihad begins full implementation of RNP-AR approach operations at Abu Dhabi and signs fuel management deal
Wed 25 July 2012 - An Etihad Airways Airbus A330-200 has performed the first high-precision and environmentally-efficient RNP-AR approach to Abu Dhabi International Airport, marking the beginning of full implementation of the air navigation procedure throughout Abu Dhabi's entire terminal airspace. The approaches have been designed by Airbus' Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) subsidiary Quovadis and utilise continuous descent operations and optimised trajectories to shorten approach paths to the runway. As well as reducing aircraft noise, each RNP-AR approach can reduce fuel consumption by 100 to 200kg, accruing overall reductions in CO2 emissions by over 20,000 tonnes per year. Etihad has also announced a contract with Optimized Systems and Solutions (OSyS) to implement a new fuel management system to reduce fuel and emissions across its fleet. Read more ...
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Lufthansa Group’s fuel efficiency improves slightly in 2011 as it continues to decouple traffic and consumption
Tue 24 July 2012 - The specific fuel consumption of the Lufthansa Group fleet declined from 4.20 litres per 100 passenger kilometres (l/100 pkm) in 2010 to 4.18 l/100 pkm in 2011, an improvement of 0.4 per cent. This was achieved despite a fall in the group-wide seat load factor by 2.0 percentage points to 77.6 percent. Kerosene consumption across the Group increased by 6.7 per cent to 9.024 million tonnes but the number of passenger kilometres flown increased by 8.3 per cent. This, says Lufthansa, is indicative of its continuing successful efforts to decouple transport performance from its fuel consumption. Overall Group CO2 emissions increased to 28.4 million tonnes in 2011 from 21.3 million tonnes in the previous year. Lufthansa was recently presented with Airline Business magazine's Strategy Award for environment in recognition of its biofuels programme. Read more ...
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UK government sets out a long term environmental vision for aviation on climate change and aircraft noise
Wed 18 July 2012 - Whilst the aviation sector is a major contributor to the economy its benefits must be balanced against its costs, particularly climate change and noise, says the UK government in its draft aviation policy framework released for public consultation. The framework, which the government says will form the basis of future sustainable aviation growth in the UK, dodges the controversy over airport expansion around London, but covers in depth aviation's environmental impacts and how they should be addressed. The government's objective, it says, is to ensure the aviation sector makes a significant and cost-effective contribution towards reducing global emissions, and to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise. Meanwhile, the UK Treasury has formally ruled that Air Passenger Duty is no longer considered an environmental tax. Read more ...
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Boeing's ecoDemonstrator 2012 programme to start testing of advanced fuel efficiency and noise reduction technologies
Mon 16 July 2012 - In-flight testing of five core environmental technologies is about to begin as part of Boeing's 2012 ecoDemonstrator programme. A brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft destined for the American Airlines' fleet is being outfitted with the advanced technologies and test equipment before it begins a month of intense testing in Glasgow, Montana. Each technology has the goal of reducing fuel consumption, lowering noise and testing the viability of sustainable materials. Each of the test flights as well two flights planned to Reno, Nevada, and Washington DC will use a blend of biofuel sourced from used cooking oil supplied by Dynamic Fuels via SkyNRG. The aim of the ecoDemonstrator programme is to accelerate application-ready technologies and Boeing demonstrators in the past have resulted in innovations such as the noise-reducing saw-toothed chevrons now seen on the engine nacelles of the new 787 and 747-8 aircraft. Read more ...
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Agreement reached by ICAO’s environmental committee on a metric for defining a CO2 standard for new aircraft
Fri 13 July 2012 - ICAO's environmental committee CAEP has agreed a metric system that will be used to define a global CO2 standard for new commercial aircraft. There are ICAO environmental regulations in place for aircraft noise and NOx emissions but developing a standard for CO2 emissions has proved a challenge for CAEP since being tasked in 2010. However, the agreement by States and observer organisations comprising the CAEP paves the way for adoption at the ICAO Council in late 2013. The CAEP will now work to define certification procedures to support the metric and the standard's scope of applicability. Agreement on a common metric for measuring the CO2 emissions of new aircraft has been welcomed by the aircraft manufacturers as well as airline associations and non-governmental organisations. However, the metric has attracted criticism from certain quarters. Read more ...
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South Africa looks to develop aviation biofuels supply chain in response to vulnerability over carbon taxes and penalties
Thu 12 July 2012 - As part of policy objectives to reduce carbon emissions by state-owned companies (SOCs) and stimulate a green economy, the South African government is planning a strategy to help develop a home-grown aviation biofuels industry to support South African Airways (SAA). The country's Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, said at the launch last week of a climate change policy framework for SOCs that the fully state-owned flag carrier will require biofuels to make up half its fuel supply by 2020 "in order to avoid future penalties". In the short term, he said, SAA was exploring the implementation of a voluntary carbon offset project to support forestry development in the region. The announcement came as the airline introduced a one to two euro carbon surcharge from the beginning of this month on passengers travelling to and from Europe to cover its EU ETS costs. Read more ...
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US EPA aligns with ICAO on new NOx standards for aircraft engines as FAA pledges action on GA leaded fuel
Mon 9 July 2012 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted new oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions standards for aircraft engines with rated thrusts greater than 26.7 kilonewtons (kN), which primarily power commercial passenger and cargo aircraft. Specifically, the EPA is adopting two new tiers of more stringent NOx emission standards to bring the United States into line with standards approved by ICAO. NOx is an important precursor gas in the formation of tropospheric ozone and also secondary particulate matter, which are common air pollutants in urban areas where airports are located. The EPA has also been under strong pressure for some years by environmentalists to rule on leaded avgas fuel used in small piston aircraft on public health grounds and the FAA has announced it is planning the transition from leaded to unleaded fuel for most of the US general aviation fleet by 2018. Read more ...
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Obama Administration announces project funding for jet biofuels as politicians seek to restrict military purchase
Fri 6 July 2012 - The US Navy together with the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) are to make available $30 million in federal funding to match private investments in commercial-scale advanced drop-in biofuels for aviation and shipping transportation. The prime aim of the funding is to form one or more domestic value chains that will lead to the construction of a commercial-scale biorefinery capable of supplying 10 million gallons a year. Further $32 million complementary funding is also to be made available in earlier stage advanced biofuels research, including pilot and demonstration scale biorefineries. The announcements come as Congress moves to prevent the military from spending more on purchasing alternative fuels than fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the USDA is to collaborate with GE Aviation to provide renewable jet fuel for engine testing at its Cincinnati, Ohio facility. Read more ...
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NATS signs with Royal Jet to help the Middle East business jet operator step up its environmental performance
Wed 4 July 2012 - The UK's air navigation service provider NATS is to assist the leading Middle East private jet company Royal Jet in improving the operator’s fuel efficiency and environmental performance of its flights in UK airspace. NATS will provide Royal Jet with actual data to monitor its Flight Profiles and the two partners will plan workshops to enhance flight crew awareness and flight efficiency. The Abu Dhabi-based operator will use the 3Di measurement system developed by NATS to quantify the environmental impact of all its flights and track improvements. Launched earlier this year, the 3Di airspace flight efficiency metric is already being used to measure the efficiency of every flight in the UK and it is currently being rolled out to other international markets. Read more ...
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New iFlex airspace routes over Africa and the South Atlantic stand to reduce Emirates' emissions by over 13,000 tonnes
Tue 3 July 2012 - After two years of negotiations with 34 different states and their air traffic and regulatory bodies, Emirates has secured 25 new airway structures across the African continent that will bring fuel and emission savings on its West African and Brazilian routes. The shortened air routes are the result of the airline's participation in the IATA iFlex project, which is trialling new, low-density flexible airspace routes across continental Africa and into South America. Although the time savings per flight can be measured only in minutes, the total savings from flights between Dubai and Accra, Lagos, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are likely to amount to 4,200 tonnes of fuel and 13,200 tonnes of CO2 over the course of a year. Additional routes are expected to follow shortly and all airlines operating between the Gulf and West and Central Africa also stand to benefit from the initiative. Read more ...
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ICAO Council agrees to further narrow down MBM options as work towards a global emissions deal progresses
Mon 2 July 2012 - Last week's meeting of the ICAO Council has resulted in the dropping of one of the four market-based measures under consideration by a special working group as the UN agency seeks to deliver a global agreement on limiting the growth of international aviation emissions. Originally six measures were under consideration but a global departure levy and a carbon levy were dropped as options at the previous Council meeting in March. A fourth option, an emissions trading baseline and credit system, has now also been discounted as it is seen as similar to one of the other options, a global mandatory offsetting scheme. Despite hopes being raised of an agreement being in place before the end of the year, there is still much work to be done by the group before a proposal can be agreed by the Council - which itself is far from unanimous on this controversial issue - and put forward to the ICAO Assembly in late 2013. Read more ...
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UK aviation industry launches new environmental code of practice for aircraft ground and departure operations
Wed 27 June 2012 - A collaboration involving the UK aviation industry with support from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) has resulted in the launch of a new code of practice that is intended to reduce the environmental impacts from ground operations and departing aircraft at UK airports. The code addresses aircraft operations at the terminal and on the taxiways, as well as air traffic operations on departure, and aims for substantial reductions in noise and carbon and NOx emissions. Four key initiatives form the core of the code: using terminal or ground based sources of electrical power for aircraft on the stand rather than an aircraft's auxiliary power unit (APU), taxiing without using all an aircraft's engines, aircraft taking off on continuous climbs and the introduction of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) at all main UK airports to streamline decision-making between airport partners. Read more ...
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Switzerland draws up regulation to include international aviation in its ETS as it negotiates linkage with the EU ETS
Mon 25 June 2012 - Switzerland is to demand all aircraft operators, domestic and international, serving its airports to record tonne-kilometre (TK) data from 1 January 2013, with the submission of monitoring plans for approval required by the end of this September. The move follows ongoing discussions between the European Union and Switzerland on linking the EU ETS and the Swiss ETS from 2014, with the EU insisting that Switzerland includes civil aviation emissions as well as those from stationary installations in the Swiss scheme. In anticipation that the negotiations prove successful, all aircraft operators operating to and from Swiss airports above the de minimis set under the EU ETS will be required to join the Swiss ETS from 2014. While there should be little administrative burden as most airlines likely to be impacted will be already monitoring and reporting the data to their relevant EU authority, airlines from countries already in dispute with the EU will be faced with another dilemma as non-compliance carries potential Swiss fines. Read more ...
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Continued EPA delay over taking action on greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft engines angers US environmental groups
Fri 22 June 2012 - A longstanding fight between a coalition of four US environmental groups and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks set to continue after the EPA ruled out any short-term decision on whether greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft engines endanger public health or welfare. The EPA also said last week that it is not prepared for the time being to initiate any rulemaking action to establish greenhouse gas emissions standards for aircraft engines, as demanded by the coalition. A petition that the EPA regulate on US aviation emissions was first filed by the coalition back in December 2007 and the issue has rumbled on amid legal jousting between the two sides. The latest rejection by the EPA, which has similarly ruled against taking action on emissions from shipping and non-road engines, has angered the four groups, which accuse the agency of disregarding its duty to regulate major sources of global warming emissions. Read more ...
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KLM biofuel flight to Rio takes off as innovative programme is launched to involve global corporations in aviation biofuels
Wed 20 June 2012 - As a KLM Boeing 777-200 was readied for yesterday's longest-ever commercial biofuel flight from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro, KLM and aviation biofuel supplier SkyNRG announced a new programme that will involve global corporations in participating in the development of sustainable biofuels worldwide. Instead of purchasing carbon credits to offset staff travel, corporations will divert the funds so they can be used by SkyNRG to help drive the use and availability of aviation biofuels and, most importantly, bring down the high-premium cost of the fuels. Prominent companies such as Accenture, Nike, Ahold, Heineken, DSM, Philips and Schiphol Group are the first to join and SkyNRG is undertaking a worldwide roll out of the corporate programme, as well as the creation of 'BioPorts' in strategic airport locations. The programme has support from the Dutch government and environmental NGO WWF Netherlands. Read more ...
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Airbus and Air Canada to carry out North America’s first ‘perfect flight’ as part of Rio+20 biofuel initiative
Mon 18 June 2012 - As part of the series of biofuel flights making their way from Montreal to Rio de Janeiro for the Rio+20 UN sustainable development summit, the second leg between Toronto and Mexico City today will be North America's first 'perfect flight'. The Air Canada scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A319 aircraft is expected to potentially reduce CO2 emissions by 40 per cent compared to normal operations. The Airbus/Air Canada collaboration will see the use of sustainable biofuel derived from SkyNRG’s used cooking oil. In agreement with air traffic management authorities across three countries - Canada, the United States and Mexico - procedures involving optimised routings will ensure the aircraft flies the most direct and efficient route. Other eco-efficient operational procedures are also being implemented in order to underpin the aviation industry's four-pillar strategy, says Airbus. Read more ...
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ICAO launches Rio+20 sustainability initiative and joins with aviation industry in series of alternative fuel flights to Rio
Mon 18 June 2012 - To mark its participation at the United Nations Rio+20 sustainable development gathering in Rio de Janeiro this week, UN specialised agency ICAO has brought together aviation and biofuels industry stakeholders to conduct a series of connecting commercial alternative fuel flights from Montreal to Rio de Janeiro. ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin will be on board four separate flights operated by Porter Airlines, Air Canada, Aeromexico and GOL, each using different types of sustainable biofuels. The first flight departs Montreal at 11.30am local time today and the final leg arrives in Rio at 2pm tomorrow (June 19), which has been designated Aviation Day at Rio+20. Separate alternative fuel flights arriving in Rio tomorrow are also being conducted by a European carrier and an internal test flight by Azul Airlines. Read more ...
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Encouraging progress at ICAO on developing a market-based measure should not be undermined by Europe, says IATA
Fri 15 June 2012 - With countries focused as never before on reaching a global agreement on economic measures to reduce aviation emissions, Europe should seize the moment and take action to diffuse the current international conflict over the EU ETS, said Tony Tyler, IATA's Director General, at the airline association's AGM in Beijing earlier this week. He said Europe's unilateral and extra-territorial inclusion of international aviation in its scheme was creating discord when harmony was needed at a time when recent progress at ICAO on proposals for a solution was very encouraging. As a key driver of growth, jobs and prosperity, he called on governments to be stronger partners in maximising the economic and social benefits aviation can bring as it grows by an expected 5 per cent annually to 2030. IATA revealed that preliminary data showed average fuel efficiency across the industry improved 2.4 per cent from 2009 to 2011 compared to its goal of an average 1.5 per cent annually to 2020. Read more ...
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ICAO launches iPhone and iPad app to help air travellers calculate the carbon footprint of their flights
Thu 14 June 2012 - The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has launched a free iPhone and iPad app of its Carbon Emissions Calculator, which computes emissions on point-to-point routes for use in carbon-offsetting programmes. The easy-to-use app, the first app from ICAO, is available through iTunes or the App Store (search for Carbon Emissions Calculator under Travel) and an Android version will be available shortly. The calculator has been available on the internet since it was first launched in 2008 and is used worldwide by the general public and all UN agencies to compute their carbon footprint, whether from personal or work-related air travel. Read more ...
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Small decline in performance fails to loosen Emirates’ grip on industry leadership in fuel and CO2 efficiency
Thu 14 June 2012 - Despite a dip of one per cent in fuel efficiency by its passenger operations last year, Emirates says it is still 22.5 per cent lower than the industry average and better than its competitors. Compared to fuel consumption of 4.07 litres per 100 passenger-kilometres (L/100PK) in the period 2010/11, the second Environmental Report just published by the Emirates Group shows average fuel burn of 4.11 L/100PK for 2011/12. Emirates partly attributes this to the impact of deploying long and ultra-long range aircraft on short and medium range routes. Overall CO2 emissions from both passenger and freight transportation rose from 17.7 million tonnes in 2010/11 to just over 19.3 million tonnes last year. The 9.4 per cent increase is largely in line with an increase in kilometres flown. The Group has just signed a joint initiative with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence on ground-based projects that could generate emissions allowances under the Clean Development Mechanism. Read more ...
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Indian and Singapore airports latest in the Asia-Pacific region to become Airport Carbon Accredited
Tue 12 June 2012 - Three more airports from the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific region have become Airport Carbon Accredited. Singapore Changi and Mumbai International airports have been accredited at the first Mapping level, and Bangalore International has achieved the second Reduction level. Certificates were awarded to the airports at the recent ACI Asia-Pacific Annual Conference in Singapore. Abu Dhabi International became the first airport in the region to be accredited when the European airport carbon reduction programme, which launched in 2009, was extended in November 2011. ACI Asia-Pacific says it has received an overwhelming response from airports in the region looking to sign up to the programme. Read more ...
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US senators urge Obama Administration to back their EU ETS airline prohibition bill and file ICAO Article 84 challenge
Tue 12 June 2012 - The United States government remains strongly opposed on both legal and policy grounds to the inclusion of US airlines into the EU ETS, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (left) told a Senate hearing last Wednesday. An approach from himself and State Secretary Hillary Clinton to the European Commission and EU member states over the issue had met with a disappointing response, he said. Despite the EU's "Lone Ranger" unilateral application of a "lousy" policy, LaHood said no decisions had been made by the Administration on what to do next and rebuffed repeated attempts by senators to get him to back an Article 84 challenge at ICAO or a bipartisan bill before the Senate that would prohibit US aircraft operators from joining the EU scheme. Also appearing before the hearing was the Commission's Climate Action Director-General, Jos Delbeke, but he failed to persuade senators that the scheme was not a tax and that revenues would be used for environmental purposes. Also providing testimony to the committee were aviation industry representatives, including A4A, and US environmental organisation EDF. Read more ...
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European airline chiefs slam "arrogant" bureaucrats over ETS and also EU governments for hindering single sky progress
Mon 28 May 2012 - At a time when the European airline industry could help stimulate economic growth, politicians and regulators were holding back development through damaging regulations such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and stifling progress on a Single European Sky. This was the message from a press conference held by European airline CEOs meeting in Brussels on Thursday, who are particularly angered by a perceived EU failure to avoid an impending trade war over the ETS. IAG's Willie Walsh called on the Commission to put aside its "posturing" and "arrogant approach" over the current stand-off with countries such as India and China and help negotiate a global solution to aviation carbon emissions. Bernard Gustin, Chairman of the Association of European Airlines (AEA), said Europe had decided to teach the world a lesson on the environment but instead had invited retaliation. Read more ...
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Swedish green flight initiative comes to the end but promises greater future efficiencies to reduce aircraft emissions
Tue 22 May 2012 - Next week sees the conclusion of a major six-month Swedish project to trial green gate-to-gate flights between Sweden's two biggest airports, Gothenburg Landvetter and Stockholm Arlanda. The Green Connection partnership will have involved around 100 SAS flights since the first on 15 December 2011 and the last on May 31. Although green approaches involving pilots gliding with engines at idle from cruising altitude until the very last stage have been taking place at Arlanda since 2009, a key advance of the Green Connection trials is the use of a new arrival procedure for runway 26 first introduced in 2010. Through the latest GPS-based RNP-AR technology, the curved approach path has been shortened by around 11 nautical miles, over 20 kilometres, and is designed to avoid noise sensitive areas. Depending on the direction of the flight's arrival, an average of 100kg or 164kg of CO2 emissions have been saved as a result. Read more ...
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Despite the focus on reducing carbon emissions, aircraft noise remains the key environmental concern for airports
Fri 18 May 2012 - An aviation policy framework was needed that addressed sustainability issues but also created headroom for UK aviation to grow, a government aviation policy official told the recent UK Airport Operators Association (AOA) Environment Conference in London. She said the government recognised that solving the noise debate, a particularly contentious issue in the south-east of England, was a difficult issue but it wanted to work with all sides to find constructive solutions. BAA Sustainability Director Matt Gorman said that the current environmental debate surrounding aviation was focused on climate change but noise remained the key issue for airports. He said a number of initiatives were being rolled out at London Heathrow to reduce aircraft noise still further and form better understanding of noise impacts on local communities. Read more ...
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Virgin Australia starts first Brisbane trials of using a locally sourced biodiesel blend in ground service vehicles
Wed 16 May 2012 - In a first for an Australian airline, Virgin Australia is to undertake an eight-week trial involving the use of a biodiesel blend derived from locally sourced tallow and used cooking oil in a baggage tug and a push-back vehicle at Brisbane Domestic Airport. Produced by Ecotech Biodiesel at a local facility in Queensland, the biofuel is blended 20/80 with conventional diesel. If the trial proves successful, the airline says it will roll out biodiesel to its ground service equipment fleet in Brisbane and other mainline airports, which it estimates could reduce carbon emissions by 300 tonnes per year. Read more ...
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Indian and Chinese airlines set one-month compliance deadline having failed to submit emissions reports on time
Tue 15 May 2012 - According to the European Commission, 1,200 aircraft operators have submitted their 2011 EU ETS emissions reports by the 31 March 2012 deadline but it appears Indian and Chinese airlines have heeded instructions from their authorities and failed to comply. Letters have been sent out today to the 10 airlines involved by the competent authorities of the relevant EU member states requesting receipt of their reports by June 15 in accordance with EU and national legislation. The Commission points out that almost all commercial airlines with significant operations to or from EU airports have reported on time and the 10 airlines concerned represent less than 3 per cent of aviation emissions covered by the scheme. Elsewhere in Brussels today, EU finance ministers have agreed that revenues from the auction of EU ETS aviation allowances could be used to support climate action in developing countries. (Updated May 16 & 18) Read more ...
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Hong Kong International on track to achieve carbon goal as it commits to becoming the world's greenest airport
Tue 15 May 2012 - Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and 40 airport business partners have pledged to cooperate to make Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) the world's greenest airport. The commitment comes as AAHK announces the airport achieved a 10 per cent reduction in carbon intensity in 2011, which it says is on track with a goal made in 2010 to lower carbon intensity by 25 per cent from 2008 emission levels by 2015. The 2011 reduction was achieved as a result of over 300 green initiatives carried out by the airport community. Three companies at the airport have received awards for their carbon reduction achievements at a ceremony last week. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific has received a special award recognising 10 years of continuous commitment to the community, its employees and the environment. Read more ...
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International Airline Group and easyJet in no rush to pass on EU ETS charges as they reveal costs in latest accounts
Mon 14 May 2012 - Whereas some major international airlines flying to Europe like Delta, American, United, US Airways and Qantas have already added specific surcharges to their European routes to cover their EU ETS costs, apart from Ryanair, the larger EU carriers have yet to declare their hand. However, with the scheme now in operation and carriers already purchasing permits to cover the anticipated shortfall in their 2012 emissions permit requirements, the costs are finding their way onto airline balance sheets. Two of Europe's biggest airline operators, easyJet and International Airlines Group (IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia), have both quoted EU ETS costs in their latest accounts that cover the first quarter of 2012. Both though remain reluctant to spell out when, and by how much, they intend to pass on the costs to customers. Read more ...
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Lufthansa, FedEx and Southwest among the winners of inaugural ATW Eco-Aviation awards
Fri 11 May 2012 - To coincide with ATW's annual Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington DC next month, the magazine is hosting its first Eco-Aviation industry awards. The winners have already been announced and the top award, the Gold Eco-Airline of the Year, has gone to the Lufthansa Group for its "dedication to fuel efficiency" and the burnFair project involving daily biofuel flights conducted during the second half of 2011. The Silver award went to FedEx Express for its EarthSmart environmental performance programme and a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint across operations. Other awards will presented at the ceremony to Southwest Airlines, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest and Pratt & Whitney. Read more ...
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California's airports LEED the way in green design as Sacramento becomes latest to achieve efficiency certification
Tue 8 May 2012 - Sacramento International has become the latest airport in California to be awarded LEED Silver Certification by the US Green Building Council for its new $1.03 billion Terminal B modernisation project that opened last October. Both Terminal B's public, pre-security building and the airside, post-security concourse met LEED Silver requirements for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, says the airport authority, which claims it is the largest airport terminal in the United States to achieve Silver status. The terminal project, dubbed 'The Big Build', was designed by Corgan Associates in association with Fentress Architects, which also designed Mineta San Jose International Airport's Terminal B that achieved LEED Silver in June 2010. Read more ...
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Honeywell enters Canadian flight programme to test a new biofeedstock and higher blends of its green jet fuel
Fri 4 May 2012 - Honeywell's UOP has started what it describes as the world's first comprehensive test programme involving its Green Jet Fuel product and a new biofeedstock specifically designed for biofuel production. A series of test flights are being carried out in Canada in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Ottawa-based Agrisoma Biosciences, which has produced a new non-food, industrial oilseed crop derived from Brassica carinata. The programme will also test blends of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel at higher ratios than the 50/50 level approved by fuel standards body ASTM last year for commercial use. Canada's first revenue biofuel flight last month by Porter Airlines used a blend that contained one per cent of Agrisoma's feedstock. Read more ...
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Maldives President calls for a stronger will and leadership in bringing about the sustainable growth of aviation
Thu 3 May 2012 - In a keynote address to this year's Asia-Pacific conference of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Waheed, said that with new air traffic management technologies and measures, as well as greater aircraft efficiencies, it was possible to reduce the aviation industry's carbon footprint and make a contribution to a cleaner environment. However, even more than facing the technological challenges, what was also required was a will to act, take decisive steps and make a difference in addressing climate change, he said. The 11,000 Maldive islands, none of which has a point higher than 1.5 metres, is at serious threat from the rising sea level effects of climate change, which was already causing environmental damage and an enormous burden for small island countries such as his, said the President. Read more ...
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The inclusion of international airlines into the EU ETS is largely compatible with world trade rules, finds study
Thu 3 May 2012 - The legal case against the inclusion of international aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has centred on whether the EU has the power to regulate emissions produced outside the EU. Another question is whether the EU's scheme is consistent with its obligations under applicable bilateral and multilateral agreements governing air transport services. A third question, which has been raised by India, amongst others, is whether it is compatible with the EU's World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. This latter challenge is the subject of a paper by Dr Lorand Bartels of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. Bartels concludes that despite the complexities of WTO law, the EU scheme in the main is justifiable on environmental grounds and it is likely a WTO panel would lack jurisdiction to determine on a violation until ICAO remedies had been exhausted. Read more ...
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Iberia implements Madrid environmental initiatives to reduce airport vehicle emissions and recycle solid wastes
Tue 1 May 2012 - Iberia has begun testing a telemetry system for refuelling its ground services vehicles at its T4 hub at Madrid-Barajas Airport. The fuel measuring system is expected to reduce consumption by 5 per cent and carbon emissions by 520 tonnes per year, the equivalent, says the airline, of planting some 2,600 trees. As part of Iberia's waste reduction and recycling programme, a new recycling centre has recently been set up at its La Munoza industrial site near the airport, part of plans to help the airline group reach its 'zero solid waste' target within the next few years. Read more ...
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US representative to ICAO says general consensus remains that market measures should only be implemented from 2020
Fri 27 Apr 2012 - The general consensus within ICAO since 2007 has been that market-based measures (MBMs) to limit the growth of aviation emissions will not come into play until 2020, said the United States permanent representative and ambassador to ICAO, Duane Woerth, at a recent US Chamber of Commerce aviation conference in Washington. That consensus, although not unanimous, has so far remained the same, he believed. Whether the 2013 Assembly produced a different consensus, "we will all have to wait and see," said the unconvinced US envoy. He was critical of the slow progress at ICAO to deliver on a CO2 standard for airframes and engines that is due to be produced in 2013, which was, in his opinion, being held up by a failure to agree on variables and metrics. Read more ...
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United Airlines enhances its passenger carbon offsetting programme and nominates US and Central American projects
Wed 25 Apr 2012 - United Airlines has extended the focus of its passenger carbon offsetting programme to include offset projects that go beyond climate change to include forest and biodiversity conservation in California and Belize, as well as a renewable energy installation in Texas. Customers when booking flights through United, which now encompasses Continental Airlines, are directed to a dedicated carbon offset website where they can either make a voluntary donation of their choice or enter their flight itinerary and have the carbon footprint calculated. The passenger can then make a choice of the project to be supported and pay a variable amount according to the project chosen. United has partnered on the programme with non-profit organisation Sustainable Travel International, which has reviewed the independently verified projects. Read more ...
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Noise ban provides nightmares for German airports and airlines but better sleep for campaigning residents
Fri 20 Apr 2012 - First it was London Heathrow and now its the turn of German airports and airlines to feel the force of high profile public campaigns by local residents and activists opposed to airport expansion and aircraft noise. Thousands of protesters have regularly occupied Frankfurt Airport's Terminal One on Monday evenings since the new fourth runway opened last October and now the German federal administrative court has ruled against night flights taking place between 11pm and 5am, and follows a similar ban imposed on Berlin's new Brandenburg International Airport when it opens in June. This week, a night flight ban on passenger aircraft was introduced at Cologne Bonn Airport and permission for a new third runway at Munich hangs in the balance, where protests have also taken place. Airports and airlines in the country are furious but UK campaigner John Stewart believes the German rulings may have implications for other major airports in Europe. Read more ...
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US and India warn Europe that row over Aviation EU ETS could derail global climate change negotiations
Wed 18 Apr 2012 - The US special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, has warned that the inclusion of foreign airlines in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) could hold up global climate change talks. Speaking at an energy and climate forum of major economies in Rome yesterday, Stern said that just because progress on a global agreement over aviation emissions reductions at ICAO had proved difficult, "it did not mean the multilateral approach should be thrown away." Last week, India's environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, said the EU scheme was "a deal-breaker" for the global talks on climate change. While US carriers continue to comply under protest with the EU ETS, Indian airlines serving Europe have been forbidden to take part and it is understood the two airlines involved, Air India and Jet Airways, have failed to submit their 2011 emissions reports by the March 31 deadline, leaving open the possibility of fines by their UK authority. Read more ...
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British Airways' new carbon fund sets sail with first home-grown community solar panel installation project
Wed 18 Apr 2012 - British Airways' One Destination Carbon Fund, which was set up last year to replace the airline's carbon offsetting programme, has launched its first project. Last week, sailing triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie unveiled a solar panel installation at a leisure centre on the English south coast that has received £46,000 ($74,000) from the Fund. The Osprey Leisure Centre, located near Weymouth, where the Olympic and Paralympic sailing competitions are taking place this summer, is owned by a charitable, not-for-profit organisation that took over a former naval sports centre in order to provide sports facilities for the local community. As the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, British Airways is supporting projects in the first year of the Fund that are sport related. Read more ...
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Boeing 787 delivery flight to ANA marks first use of biofuels on the new Dreamliner and also first across the Pacific
Tue 17 April 2012 - Biofuel from used cooking oil has been used to power in part the delivery flight of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner joining the All Nippon Airways (ANA) fleet from Boeing's Delivery Center in Everett, Washington, to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Not only is it the first use of biofuels on Boeing's new mid-size, twin-engined aircraft capable of flying long-range routes but it is the first time a biofuel blend has been used on a transpacific flight. Boeing said the flight emitted an estimated 30 per cent less emissions of CO2 when compared to similarly-sized current commercial aircraft as a result of a 10 per cent blend of biofuel and an approximate 20 per cent saving from the technology and efficiency advancements offered by the Dreamliner. Read more ...
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UK’s NATS delivers further fuel and emissions reductions in 2011 en route to 10 per cent target by 2020
Mon 16 Apr 2012 - The past year has proved a busy time for the UK's air navigation service provider (ANSP) NATS as it endeavours to make good on a long-term pledge to reduce air traffic related CO2 emissions by an average 10 per cent per flight by 2020. The company's 2012 Corporate Responsibility report just published highlights that over 100 operational and procedural changes in air traffic flows have resulted in savings of around 115,000 tonnes of CO2 since 2009, worth £22 million ($35m) in fuel savings to airlines. In 2011, 26 changes made at NATS' Swanwick and Prestwick air traffic control centres enabled savings of 19,000 tonnes of fuel and 60,000 tonnes of emissions. The launch in January of a metric that financially incentivises NATS to reduce air traffic emissions has already received recognition as a meaningful, results-led environmental collaboration of aviation sectors working together and an example for other ANSPs to follow. Read more ...
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UK climate advisers recommend international aviation emissions be included in national carbon budgets
Thu 5 Apr 2012 - The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which advises the UK government on national carbon targets, has recommended international aviation and shipping emissions be included in carbon budgets and the UK's 2050 overall target to reduce emissions 80 per cent below 1990 levels. International emissions from the two sectors had previously been excluded because of the complexities involved but the introduction of aviation into the EU ETS has now made it possible to calculate aviation's UK share and provide a mechanism to cap its emissions growth. Current UK policy is to return aviation emissions to 2005 levels by 2050. The full inclusion of aviation emissions into the legally binding carbon budgets would put pressure on the UK aviation industry to deliver on its own reduction goals. However, the CCC said the UK should not set unilateral emissions targets but should work within longer-term global or EU agreements. Read more ...
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The three main obstacles facing the introduction of sustainable aviation biofuels: price, price and price
Mon 2 Apr 2012 - According to Finnair's VP Sustainable Development, Kati Ihamaki, biofuels are the fastest route to meaningful long-term reductions in aviation greenhouse gas emissions but supply chain problems need to be overcome and the major hurdle remained "price, price and price". This was a familiar theme at the recent World Biofuels Markets 2012 aviation stream conference, with commercialisation and production scale-up providing a significant challenge to the development of a sustainable jet biofuels industry. However, there are growing signs that policy-makers at European Commission and US government level are willing to join with industry to find solutions. Read more ...
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Global use of sustainable aviation fuels widens with first commercial flights for South America, Australia and Canada
Thu 29 March 2012 - Dutch sustainable jet fuel supplier SkyNRG has notched up two more biofuel-powered commercial flight 'firsts'. LAN Chile recently carried out South America's first second-generation jet biofuel flight between the Chilean cities of Santiago and Concepcion using SkyNRG's used cooking oil biofuel. Qantas Airways has reported it will operate Australia's first commercial flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel from SkyNRG on a return service between Sydney and Adelaide on April 13. Qantas said it has ended collaborations set up last year with US biofuel companies Solena and Solazyme. Meanwhile, Porter Airlines has announced it will use one of its Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft to conduct the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada in mid-April, using a biofuel blend derived from the crops camelina sativa and brassica carinata supplied by a Canadian producer. Read more ...
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US airlines give up on legal case against inclusion into the EU ETS but call on their government to step up retaliatory action
Thu 29 March 2012 - The two-year-long lawsuit brought against the UK government by three major US airlines and their trade association over their inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme has formally come to an end. The case had been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which found against the US arguments last December and ruled the scheme was consistent with international law. It had been expected that new claims would be submitted by the plaintiffs when the case was heard again by the High Court in London today but instead they withdrew the lawsuit, with Airlines for America explaining only that it had been "appropriately ended". A4A said it and its members remained steadfastly opposed to the scheme being applied to US airlines and aircraft operators and were committed to seeing it overturned. Environmental NGOs that sided with the EU in the case welcomed the ending of the case but expressed concern that the battlefield was being moved elsewhere. Read more ...
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US and German aviation biofuel interests forge partnership to showcase technology at ILA Berlin Air Show
Wed 28 March 2012 - A growing affiliation between the US-based Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and its new German counterpart aireg will be brought into focus in September when the two associations come together to draw attention to aviation biofuel developments at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2012. A highlight during the show will be a one-day high-level conference in which senior policy-makers and industry will discuss the prospects for biofuels in the aviation sector. CAAFI has been behind previous showcase events at the Farnborough Air Show in 2010 and the Paris Air Show in 2009 and 2011, which drew a number of US biofuel companies as exhibitors alongside the running of daily seminars. It has decided to skip Farnborough this year in favour of Berlin, citing Olympics issues and the attraction of working with aireg. Read more ...
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Improvements in global air traffic efficiency must be speeded up if industry emission goals are to be reached, says CANSO/Boeing report
Wed 28 March 2012 - Air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and the international aviation industry must increase collaboration if real air traffic management (ATM) fuel efficiencies are to be realised in the face of growing global air traffic. That's the central message of a 'white paper' published by Boeing and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), which represents ANSPs responsible for supporting over 85 per cent of world air traffic. CANSO is concerned that unless work on improving operational efficiency in the global ATM system is accelerated, there is a danger the sector will fail to contribute to the aviation industry's 2020 and 2050 carbon emissions reduction goals. The paper challenges all industry stakeholders to collaborate on a set of steps to reach 94-95 per cent operational efficiency by 2025 and 95-98 per cent by 2050. Read more ...
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Leading aircraft manufacturers set aside their rivalries to collaborate on accelerating aviation biofuel commercialisation
Mon 26 March 2012 - Aircraft manufacturers Airbus, Boeing and Embraer have set aside their competitive differences to come together and help promote and accelerate the availability of sustainable new jet fuel sources. Without going into specific details the three rivals say they will seek collaborative opportunities to "speak in unity" to government, biofuel producers and key stakeholders. Airbus has also joined an Australian consortium that includes Virgin Australia, which is studying the production of sustainable jet biofuels from eucalyptus mallee trees through pyrolytic thermal conversion. Fuels derived from pyrolysis have not yet been approved for commercial aviation use by the international standards bodies and Airbus will support the certification process. Read more ...
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South African tourism minister calls for two-year suspension of aviation EU ETS to allow global deal at ICAO
Fri 23 March 2012 - The creation of a legally-binding global sectoral cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme for aviation is long overdue, South Africa's Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told delegates at this week's Aviation & Environment Summit in Geneva. He criticised the "15 years of intransigence and doublespeak" at ICAO, where "too many vested interests" had frustrated the political process. However, he had sharp words for Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme, the introduction of which, he said, had left a bitter aftertaste. He called on the EU to suspend the extension of the ETS to aviation for two years in order to give the ICAO negotiating parties a chance to conclude negotiations on a global scheme. The minister added slowing down aviation and tourism growth was in no-one's interest but the two sectors shared a responsibility to address their growing carbon footprint. Read more ...
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Concerns over CBDR fail to halt important ICAO Council agreement to move forward on evaluating market-based measures
Fri 16 March 2012 - Despite deep reservations by a number of major developing states over CBDR, an agreement was reached by ICAO Council members on Wednesday that work should continue on finding a market-based system that would enable the international aviation industry to offset growth in carbon emissions. The high-profile importance of this issue has become a major challenge for the UN agency as the dispute between Europe and other major powers over the EU ETS continues to escalate. The general consensus reached at the Council, however, should be viewed as welcome progress after a stormy previous meeting left the EU isolated following the adoption of a resolution condemning its carbon scheme. The President of the ICAO Council, Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez said he was very pleased with the outcome and is optimistic a plan can be presented at next year’s ICAO Assembly. Read more ...
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European air transport bosses urge EU leaders to find an international compromise over EU ETS conflict
Mon 12 March 2012 - The CEOs of nine leading European aerospace manufacturers and airlines have written letters to the Prime Ministers of France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom to put a stop to the growing probability of a trade conflict with China and other major nations over the EU ETS. Airbus, which fears a damaging loss of orders for its aircraft, has been joined by major European flag carriers such as Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia and British Airways, as well as Virgin Atlantic, Air Berlin, Safran and MTU Aero Engines, in believing they face serious consequences over the EU carbon scheme. Read more ...
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US legislation to prohibit airlines from joining EU ETS moves a step closer as Senate bill receives bipartisan support
Thu 8 March 2012 - A bill introduced into the US upper house by Republican Senator John Thune that would prohibit US aircraft operators from participating in the EU ETS has received backing from Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat. As the Democrats hold the balance of power in the Senate this bipartisan approach could prove crucial in progress of the proposed legislation. Russia too is preparing similar legislation to prevent its carriers from participating in Europe's emissions reduction scheme and the Ministry of Transport is working with the Russian parliament (the Duma) on preparing a draft law, expected before mid-year. In a bid to head off a damaging confrontation between the EU and its opponents, an upcoming meeting of the ICAO Council is due to consider a number of proposals on possible market-based measures that could form the basis for a global agreement. Meanwhile, a US study concludes airline profits could increase in the short term as a result of the EU ETS. Read more ...
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UK aviation industry plots roadmap to accommodate significant growth to 2050 without substantial CO2 increase
Thu 8 March 2012 - An alliance of UK aviation sectors committed to driving a greener long-term strategy for the industry says a significant growth in passenger and freight traffic to 2050 is possible without a substantial increase in absolute carbon emissions. The Sustainable Aviation (SA) group - made up of airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and the national ANSP - has updated its 2008 Road-Map to reflect revised traffic forecasts and the latest developments in aircraft and engine technologies, as well as progress made in aviation biofuels. The group says the latest Road-Map takes into account its support for the global industry target of reducing emissions to 2005 levels by 2050 and recognising the significant role required of carbon trading in achieving this aim. SA warns the UK government against imposing unilateral national targets and measures to restrain capacity or including international aviation emissions in UK carbon targets. Read more ...
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Rival Chinese and US planemakers partner to set up Beijing energy conservation and emissions reduction research project
Wed 7 March 2012 - Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Boeing have announced a collaboration agreement to set up a research centre in Beijing that will aim to improve commercial aviation's energy efficiency and reduce the sector's greenhouse gas emissions. The two rivals will create and jointly fund the Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction Technology Center, and the agreement also allows for annual leadership engagements and the exchange of market forecasts. COMAC is due to launch a narrowbody rival to the Boeing 737 in 2016 and secure a share of one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets as Chinese passenger traffic grows an estimated five times its present size by 2030. Read more ...
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Air France reports a 4 per cent fuel efficiency improvement following 2008 commitment on environmental impact
Mon 5 March 2012 - Air France has decreased its fuel consumption from 3.96 litres to 3.81 litres per passenger per 100km between 2008 and 2011, a reduction of almost 4 per cent. The airline is aiming for an average fuel consumption of 3.7 litres by the end of 2012, a commitment Air France undertook in early 2008 when its then CEO signed the Grenelle Environment Agreement with French government ministers. The agreement pledged to lower CO2 emissions on flights to its French overseas territories by 20 per cent and on domestic flights by 5 per cent over a five-year period. Last October, the airline claimed a world fuel efficiency record of 2.2 litres per passenger per 100km on a flight between Toulouse and Paris Orly, thanks to a combination of biofuel usage and flight navigation procedures. Meanwhile, group partner KLM has announced a new series of biofuel flights between Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG airports. Read more ...
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China targets 12 million tonnes of aviation biofuels by 2020, representing 30 per cent of total jet fuel use
Thu 1 March 2012 - Aviation fuel consumption in China is likely to double over the remainder of the decade from a current 20 million tonnes to more than 40 million tonnes by 2020, with aviation biofuels expected to make up more than a half of this increase, said Li Jian, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. According to a report in China Daily, Li said the move to develop biofuels is prompted by the EU's new emissions trading scheme. Air China carried out the country's first biofuel demonstration flight last October using a jatropha blend supplied by the PetroChina unit of China National Petroleum. Rival Sinopec, China's biggest oil refiner, has started sending aviation biofuel it has developed from animal fat and vegetable oils to CAAC for testing, with a view to commercialisation. Read more ...
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LAN and Iberia contribute to South American projects on greener flight paths and climate change impacts
Tue 28 Feb 2012 - LAN has carried out Latin America's first continuously guided flight from take-off to landing using Performance-based Navigation (PBN) technology. The flight from Cusco, access point to the popular tourist site of Machu Picchu, to the Peruvian capital Lima charted a highly efficient and predictable flight path as part of the Green Skies of Peru project. The GE-designed PBN departure, en-route, arrival and approach procedures will save participating airlines on average 19 track miles, 6.3 minutes, 450 pounds (204kg) of fuel and 1,420 pounds (644kg) of CO2 emissions per flight. Meanwhile, Iberia is to participate in a European climate change research project to measure air quality at cruising altitude on flights between Spain and South America. Read more ...
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Airberlin lays claim as Europe’s most fuel-efficient network carrier as 2011 consumption drops by 1.5 per cent
Fri 24 Feb 2012 - Germany's second largest airline airberlin managed to improve its fuel overall efficiency in 2011 by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous year. The carrier says it achieved an average specific fuel consumption of 3.5 litres per 100 passenger kilometres flown, which it claims is the lowest of any European network carrier, and compares to 3.6 litres per 100PKM in 2010. The savings in 2011 amounted to nearly 19,800 tonnes of fuel, corresponding to a reduction of 62,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Airberlin's fleet is largely made up of Boeing 737-700 and -800 aircraft fitted with winglets, although it also operates Airbus A320 and A330, Embraer E-190 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft. Read more ...
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Coalition of states comes up with basket of countermeasures over EU ETS but falls short of a coordinated attack
Thu 23 Feb 2012 - Of the 29 or so countries who met this week to discuss measures to derail the EU's inclusion of third country airlines and operators into the EU ETS, 23 of them signed a joint declaration calling on the EU and its member states to cease application of the directive and said they would "consider" measures and actions if the EU failed to respond. Even though the tone of the declaration is less confrontational than some expected, it is thought Canada, Egypt and the UAE abstained from the final agreement. The "coalition of the unwilling", as it has been dubbed, has come up with a list of eight possible measures the signatories could take in retaliation, including filing an Article 84 dispute application at ICAO and prohibiting their carriers from participating in the EU carbon reduction scheme. An earlier draft suggestion on re-opening existing wider trade agreements and negotiations with the EU was dropped from the final adopted text. Read more ...
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Governments meet in Moscow to debate action against the EU’s inclusion of their airlines in carbon scheme
Tue 21 Feb 2012 - A two-day meeting of 26 countries opposed to the inclusion of non-EU airlines into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) gets underway in Moscow today to consider potential countermeasures. Action could include barring national airlines from taking part in the scheme, invoking an Article 84 legal procedure at ICAO or taking retaliatory action against European carriers or aerospace manufacturers. Two of the countries involved - China and the United States - have already made moves to ban their carriers from complying with the legislation. However, with a fragile global economy, there is recognition that a trade war is in no one's interest and both sides would prefer to see a resolution through ICAO, where moves towards a global market-based mechanism are being accelerated. Meanwhile, not content with making airlines pay for their climate impact through the EU ETS, EU finance ministers are eyeing the industry as a contributor to the UN Green Climate Fund. Read more ...
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Hawaiian Airlines earns carbon credits following six-year use of P&W's engine washing system
Tue 21 Feb 2012 - Hawaiian Airlines has earned what it claims to be the first-ever aviation-based verified carbon credits, having reduced its CO2 emissions by nearly 22,000 tonnes over the past six years using Pratt & Whitney's engine washing technology. Since its launch in 2005, the programme has saved the airline more than 2.5 million gallons of fuel, along with an estimated 26,000 gallons of water that would be have been used with traditional washing methods. The credits have been quantified and certified under the Verified Carbon Standard, the most widely used international quality-assurance system for carbon credits issued in voluntary markets. Read more ...
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EasyJet becomes first airline to join with Safran and Honeywell on development of electric green taxiing system
Mon 20 Feb 2012 - Low-cost airline easyJet is to collaborate with Safran and Honeywell in supporting the development and trial of an innovative system that allows aircraft to taxi without requiring the use of aircraft engines or a tug to manoeuvre it in and out of stands. First operational trials are expected to start in 2013 and the two aerospace manufacturers are looking to offer the electric green taxiing system (EGTS) either on new aircraft or as a retrofit solution to in-service aircraft by 2016. EasyJet's involvement will help establish whether the estimated savings in fuel and emissions can be realised and will also quantify other benefits. The UK's biggest short-haul airline will also assist in establishing the standard operational procedures for aircraft equipped with the system. Read more ...
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Weak carbon price sees market analysts sharply downgrading forecasts of EU ETS cost to airlines in 2012
Mon 20 Feb 2012 - Despite a rebound in the price of European carbon prices late last week, analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon have halved their estimate made last September of the cost of the EU ETS to airlines. Point Carbon has calculated airlines covered by the scheme will have to pay around 500 million euros ($660m) for the required permits to cover a potential shortfall of 59 million tonnes of CO2 this year, at an average estimated price of 8.50 euros ($11.25) per tonne. Barclays Capital put the overall 2012 cost even lower - around 300 million euros ($400m) - which an analyst described as "a drop in the ocean" compared to the cost of jet fuel. Meanwhile, Middle East carrier Etihad has announced a carbon surcharge of $3 per passenger for flights into and out of Europe from March 1, following similar surcharges being imposed by Qantas and major US carriers. Read more ...
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The prospect of EU ETS non-compliance by foreign airlines fills European carriers with grim foreboding
Fri 17 Feb 2012 - While European airlines remain supportive of carbon pricing as the most effective way of dealing with the industry's emissions, they are becoming increasingly alarmed with events on the wider political international stage that could see them competitively disadvantaged under the EU ETS. Despite differences on the scope of the scheme, international and regional airline representatives have expressed deep concerns over the potential impact of airlines operating to Europe that are prohibited by their governments from complying with the EU legislation. At a London conference last week, British Airways called for an exemption for all airlines on routes affected by non-compliance issues or financial compensation where retaliatory measures are enforced by foreign regulators. A European Commission representative said there was no question of amending or suspending the scheme but said the EU would continue to support a global approach through ICAO. Read more ...
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Some non-food vegetable oil-based aviation biofuels could be cost-competitive by the end of the decade, finds Bloomberg study
Wed 15 Feb 2012 - If production efficiency continues to improve, the cost of some biofuels - such as those based on hydro-treated non-food vegetable oils from jatropha and camelina, or from pyrolysis of cellulosic feedstocks - could become competitive with the cost of fossil-based jet fuel by 2018. This is the main finding of research carried out by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for its clients. On the other hand, fuels produced from woody feedstock through gasification and the Fischer Tropsch (F-T) process are unlikely to be economical until well into the next decade. The researchers suggest that subsidies or mandates will be required if governments wish to see a sizeable take-up of aviation biofuels before 2020 and airlines will have to compete with road transport for the limited availability of certified, low-cost supplies. Read more ...
1 opinion posted |
After thirty months of progress, airport carbon reduction programme expands to cover over half of European traffic
Wed 15 Feb 2012 – Airports handling over half - 52 per cent - of European passenger traffic are now certified under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme set up by trade body ACI Europe and backed by the European Commission. Since its launch in June 2009, 55 airports have become accredited at one of the four levels of certification: Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality. Airports' own operations account for only around 5 per cent of aviation's two per cent share of global carbon emissions but, says ACI Europe, European airports are keen to tackle their contribution. Last November, the programme was expanded to include ACI's Asia-Pacific region, with Abu Dhabi International Airport becoming the first to be accredited, and gained the support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Read more ...
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Aviation must tackle its environmental impact before it can be allowed to grow, says UK's aviation regulator
Fri 27 Jan 2012 - Although aviation is a key driver of growth, without tackling its global and local environmental impact, the industry will not be able to realise its economic potential, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The regulatory body has opened a three-month consultation period as it seeks to define and develop its own environmental role, and help aviation to improve its environmental performance. In a document published to coincide with the consultation, 'CAA and the Environment', the regulator sets out a number of goals for its work. As the UK seeks to form a coherent aviation policy, the UK government has recently introduced legislative plans to give the CAA a duty to promote better information for the public on environmental impact and performance and improve consumers' ability to make informed choices. Read more ...
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BioJet and US Indian Tribes to develop jet biofuel feedstock and refining projects worth $1 billion over 10 years
Fri 27 Jan 2012 - Renewable aviation biofuel supply chain integrator BioJet International has formed a business alliance with the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT), which represents 57 sovereign Indian Tribes that manage millions of acres of agricultural lands in the United States on which feedstocks for biofuels may be grown. A year ago, BioJet received a $1.2 billion facility from Equity Partners Fund, which is intended to help finance a $6 billion supply chain capital projects programme over the next 10 years that includes feedstock and refining projects, as well as investment and strategic acquisitions. BioJet CEO Mitch Hawkins said its relationship with CERT envisioned joint projects worth at least $1 billion over 10 years locating feedstock generation and refining operations to provide biofuels for airlines and ground transportation at key locations throughout the western United States. Read more ...
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Aviation Partners estimate its blended winglets have saved commercial and business aircraft around 3 billion gallons of jet fuel
Fri 27 Jan 2012 - Seattle-based Aviation Partners Inc (API) estimates its blended winglets have saved customers worldwide an estimated 3 billion gallons of jet fuel, based on typical utilisation, since they were first installed on a Gulfstream II aircraft in 1993, representing a reduction of over 32.2 million tons of CO2 emissions. By adding effective wingspan, the winglets reduce by around 6 to 7 per cent the drag caused by wingtip vortices and result in increased fuel efficiency and boost range. The company's winglets are now flying on more than 5,000 individual airplanes comprising more than 20 airplane types, mostly business jets but also commercial Boeing aircraft. Read more ...
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Etihad becomes first Middle East carrier to use sustainable biofuel as it takes delivery of new Boeing aircraft
Wed 25 Jan 2012 – Etihad Airways’ newest 777-300ER aircraft that arrived yesterday in Abu Dhabi from the Boeing factory in Seattle was powered on its 14-hour flight by a blend of plant-based jet fuel sourced from recycled vegetable cooking oil and traditional jet kerosene. The biofuel blend was supplied by SkyNRG, which has virtually cornered the market availability of sustainable jet fuel just now, with involvement already in maiden commercial biofuel flights by carriers in Europe, Asia, the United States and now the Middle East. Boeing helped Etihad source the fuel and also worked on testing the biofuel blend and other technical aspects associated with preparing for the flight. Read more ...
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Countries opposing EU ETS to convene second meeting within weeks to discuss retaliatory action against Europe
Tue 24 Jan 2012 - Following the Delhi meeting of 26 countries at the end of September to discuss moves to jointly oppose the inclusion of their airlines in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), a second meeting is planned to take place either in Delhi or Moscow early next month. The first meeting resulted in the Delhi Declaration, which led to the ICAO Council adopting in November a similar declaration put forward by the coalition of nations including India, China, Brazil and the United States. Indian officials are believed to be in the United States this week to agree their positions ahead of the second meeting. ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin recently pledged to accelerate moves towards developing a global market-based system in a move to head off international confrontation over the European carbon scheme, including a possible Article 84 legal challenge by the US. Read more ...
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Availability and sustainability key challenges, says Lufthansa, as biofuel trials end with first commercial transatlantic flight
Mon 23 Jan 2012 - The six-month trial by Lufthansa using biofuel blends on the route between Hamburg and Frankfurt has ended with the first-ever scheduled commercial transatlantic biofuel flight on January 12. In all, 1,187 scheduled flights were carried out between July and December using an Airbus A321 with a 50-50 blend of regular fuel and biosynthetic kerosene in one engine. Total consumption of the biokerosene mix amounted to 1,556 tonnes, says the airline, and initial calculations suggest CO2 emissions were reduced by 1,471 tonnes as a result. Lufthansa also reports that thanks to the higher density of biofuel, fuel consumption is reduced by more than one per cent, with the added benefit of cleaner burning fuel due to a lack of sulphur and aromatic compounds. Read more ...
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Airlines greet the unwelcome arrival of the EU ETS with passenger surcharges to cover their anticipated costs
Wed 18 Jan 2012 - There were no fireworks on January 1 to usher in the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for airlines serving European airports, just disgruntled announcements by a number of major airlines - including Lufthansa and Ryanair - that passengers would face an increase in their fares to cover the costs of compliance. US airlines too have introduced surcharges on transatlantic routes but won't publicly attribute them to the EU scheme. Up till now, airlines have generally refused to reveal whether they would soak up the costs or pass them on to customers but the early signs are that many will decide on the latter course of action. A paper by MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics finds the economic impact of the EU ETS on US airlines is likely to be small, with a potential for windfall gains under the current permit allocation rules. Read more ...
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