European Parliament’s environment committee agrees to tighten screw on aviation under reformed EU ETS
Fri 16 Dec 2016 - Members of the European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) have agreed a proposal to tighten the rules on aviation emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and bring the sector’s emissions cap more into line with other industries. The MEPs believe aviation must do more to reduce emissions and expect the sector to be on an equal footing by 2030. The EU is currently looking to reform the EU ETS, which has received criticism for a lack of teeth that has resulted in the price of allowances currently hovering at barely 5 euros ($5). However, the proposals would only take effect from the next post-2020 period by which time airlines will expect the new ICAO global CORSIA scheme to replace it. This week, a study commissioned by Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment found that by keeping the EU ETS for flights within Europe, the ENVI proposals would cut nearly four times more emissions than under CORSIA. Read more ...
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More airports working towards carbon neutrality as sector makes global progress on CO2 programme
Tue 13 Dec 2016 - At the Paris COP21 climate summit a year ago, the European airport industry pledged to have 50 carbon neutral airports by 2030. Since then, five more airports in Europe have reached that goal, bringing the total number in Europe to 25. Manchester Airport has now joined the list and become the first UK airport to achieve carbon neutrality, and Munich Airport has just announced plans to become Germany's first carbon neutral airport. Munich intends to spend 150 million euros ($160m) between now and 2030 on a climate protection programme that aims to reduce CO2 emissions directly attributed to the airport's operations by 60 per cent over the period, with the remaining 40 per cent taking the form of carbon offsets. Outside Europe, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International has become the second Asia-Pacific region airport to achieve carbon neutral status. Read more ...
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UK aviation industry says 2050 CO2 targets can be met while still accommodating significant demand growth
Fri 9 Dec 2016 - As government assesses the impact of airport expansion on long-term national carbon targets, the UK industry group Sustainable Aviation (SA) has released a comprehensive update of its CO2 Road-Map, first published in 2012. The general thrust of UK aviation policy is for CO2 emissions from the sector to be no more in 2050 than they were in 2005. To date, UK aviation demand has grown 11 per cent since 2005 while emissions are below 2005 levels, but is expected to accelerate and emissions, according to SA, could rise by 155 per cent under a 'no-improvements' scenario. However, even with an increase in runway capacity, SA's updated roadmap shows that with a combination of changes to operations, improvements in aircraft technology and the introduction of alternative fuels, gross CO2 emissions could peak around 2035 before falling back to near 2005 levels by 2050. To achieve an industry target of halving 2005 emissions by 2050 though would require market-based measures, says SA. Read more ...
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Aviation and shipping growth will undo EU efforts to reduce transport emissions, finds CE Delft study
Wed 7 Dec 2016 - Growth in emissions from air and sea transport will undo EU efforts to reduce those from land transport by 2030 and threaten European climate commitments, concludes campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) following a report it commissioned from consultants CE Delft. Under binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for sectors not covered by the EU's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), land transport - cars, vans, trucks, trains and barges - is expected to consume 43 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) less energy per year in 2030 than it did in 2010. Yet ships and planes in Europe will consume 19 Mtoe more annually in 2030 than they did 20 years earlier, finds CE Delft. Aviation's share of total EU transport fossil fuel demand is expected to rise from 13 per cent in 2010 to 16 per cent in 2030, while shipping increases from 11 per cent to 14 per cent. Read more ...
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Engine manufacturer GE Australia joins the Qantas corporate carbon offset programme
Mon 5 Dec 2016 - GE Australia has joined the Qantas Future Planet programme, in which the airline manages carbon offset portfolios for its corporate customers and providing them with access to more than 40 certified offset projects in Australia and overseas. Most of GE's offsetting is expected to support Australia-based projects that have significant community benefits as well as reducing carbon emissions, such as the North Kimberley fire abatement project lead by native title groups in Western Australia. Other major organisations that have signed up for the airline's corporate partnership programme, which is an extension of the voluntary carbon offsetting offered to passengers, include international law firm Allens, Destination NSW and Ernst & Young. Read more ...
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Advanced biofuels for aviation set to benefit under proposals to revise EU policy on transport fuels
Fri 2 Dec 2016 - Revisions to the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED) could see preferential rules applying to advanced aviation and marine fuels to support their deployment in the sectors. Despite significant growth of renewable fuels since 2009, fossil-based oil supplies 94 per cent of all energy used for cars, trucks, ships and planes, says the European Commission in its extensive "winter package" released this week of policy proposals to improve the bloc's energy efficiency and meet 2030 climate targets. Further development of advanced alternative fuels will therefore be required and the revised RED aims to introduce an obligation on European transport fuel suppliers to provide an increasing share of advanced biofuels, while at the same time decreasing the use of first generation, food-based biofuels. IATA welcomed the Commission's proposals and urged policy-makers to go further and prioritise the use of sustainable fuels in air transport. Read more ...
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Major boost for UK biojet as government proposes to extend renewable transport fuel incentives to aviation
Wed 30 Nov 2016 - The UK aviation industry has welcomed a proposal by the government to extend one of its main policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport to include aviation, which could provide a major boost for future production of renewable aviation fuels in the country. Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), tradable certificates (RTFCs) are awarded to suppliers of sustainable biofuel and have so far only applied to road transport. The RTFO requires that a certain percentage of road transport fuel is renewable and provides a valuable incentive for the biofuels industry which contributes towards meeting this obligation. However, in a consultation launched yesterday, the government says it is not proposing to provide a similar mandate for the supply of renewable aviation fuels given the market is still in its infancy. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both have ambitions to open up local production of sustainable aviation fuels. Read more ...
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British Airways in talks with potential partners as it plans to re-launch sustainable jet fuels project
Fri 25 Nov 2016 - British Airways is making significant progress in finding a company to partner with on a new initiative to produce sustainable jet fuel for the airline, says Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of parent International Airlines Group. Blamed on a steep fall in the oil price and lack of government support, plans were shelved exactly a year ago to build a facility in a partnership with Solena Fuels on the site of a former oil refinery by the Thames estuary east of London. Walsh told the annual UK Airport Operators Association conference this week that an announcement would be made in the coming months on a new project. He also welcomed the ICAO global agreement to manage damaging CO2 emissions from the aviation sector, in contrast to fellow Irish airline chief Michael O'Leary of Ryanair, who described climate change as "completely bogus". Read more ...
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EU politicians say ICAO carbon offsetting scheme lacks ambition and will push for reforms to Aviation EU ETS
Mon 21 Nov 2016 - The head of the European Parliament delegation to COP22 in Marrakech said action to address growing CO2 emissions by the international aviation and shipping sectors was insufficient and could jeopardise action elsewhere to meet global climate targets. Giovanni La Via, who is chair of the Parliament's environment committee, said the two sectors could represent up to 40 per cent of all global emissions by 2050 if they were not regulated. The European Commission will soon be publishing its proposals on the future direction of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for aviation from 2017 and MEPs are looking to tighten the rules. Elsewhere at COP22, which finished on Friday, ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu praised Europe's leadership and contribution in the agreement reached at last month's Assembly on the global market-based measure. Read more ...
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Landing charges incentivising airlines to use the cleanest and quietest new aircraft, says Heathrow
Mon 21 Nov 2016 - The increasing use of the cleaner and quieter Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 aircraft is improving noise performance at Heathrow, says the airport, which has just published its Fly Quiet league table for the third quarter of 2016. Qatar Airways last week became the third carrier to fly the A350 on routes to Heathrow, joining Finnair and Ethiopian Airlines, making a total of six daily flights for the latest Airbus aircraft. Launched last year, the noise footprint of the A350 is claimed to be around 50 per cent smaller than its predecessor models and 21 of airlines serving Heathrow have the aircraft on order. With the number of Boeing 787 aircraft rising by 19 per cent, Heathrow says airlines are increasing the use of their quietest aircraft in response to the airport's landing charge incentive policy. British Airways' short-haul fleet continues to top the noise league table. Read more ...
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IATA releases airport assessment tool to help cut illegal trafficking of wildlife shipments
Thu 17 Nov 2016 - In partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO), IATA has developed and launched an Airport Wildlife Trafficking Assessment Tool to help airports in the fight against the illegal transportation of endangered species. The tool will enable airports to assess their supply-chain security, intelligence and risk management, staff awareness, and reporting processes, alongside air cargo and passenger screening policy and procedures. A pilot initiative is due to start this month at Maputo International Airport in Mozambique, with a global roll-out planned to follow next year. In March, IATA and 26 of its member airlines signed a declaration at Buckingham Palace in London committing to take action in closing vulnerabilities in the global transportation and customs system. Read more ...
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Alaska Airlines makes first commercial flight using renewable jet fuel sourced from forestry waste
Tue 15 Nov 2016 - The first-ever commercial flight to be powered by a blend of renewable jet fuel made from forest residuals was undertaken yesterday from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Washington DC. The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 used a 20 per cent blend of ASTM-approved fuel produced by alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) company Gevo, whose technology was used to convert cellulosic sugars derived from wood waste into renewable isobutanol before further conversion into jet fuel. The forest residuals - the limbs and branches that remain after the harvesting of managed forests - was sourced from the Pacific Northwest. The alternative jet fuel flight was made possible by the Washington State University-led Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) initiative and supported by the US Department of Agriculture. Read more ...
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Carbon agreement shows ICAO is playing its part in supporting global climate ambitions, Aliu tells COP22
Thu 10 Nov 2016 - ICAO is determined to continue to lead on all matters concerning international civil aviation and climate change, asserted ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu in a presentation to a plenary session of the UNFCCC's COP22 meeting in Marrakech. Following the agreement last month by its Member States to adopt the CORSIA global carbon offsetting scheme, ICAO is promoting the success during the two-week climate talks, nearly a year after the previous COP reached its own Paris Agreement. During the first few days of COP22, which started on Monday, Aliu has provided inputs from ICAO to the UNFCCC's SBSTA body, taken part in ICAO side events and bilateral meetings, and participated in a press briefing alongside UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. He told journalists ICAO States and industry faced "a lot of hard work" to ensure the scheme was ready to start in 2021 but ICAO was playing its part in supporting wider global climate ambitions and a long-term goal for the sector was under consideration. Read more ...
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Oil giant BP makes significant entry into sustainable aviation fuel production with investment in Fulcrum
Tue 8 Nov 2016 - Oil giant BP has announced a major move into sustainable aviation biofuels with a $30 million equity investment by its BP Ventures arm in US municipal solid waste (MSW) to jet fuel producer Fulcrum BioEnergy. Air BP has also agreed terms with Fulcrum on a 10-year offtake agreement in which the aviation division of BP will purchase 50 million gallons annually of low-carbon, drop-in jet fuel. One of the world's largest suppliers of aviation fuel products and services, Air BP will also have the opportunity to provide fuel supply chain services for the blending, certification and delivery of Fulcrum's jet fuel to commercial and military aviation customers. As a preferred supply chain partner, Air BP says it will distribute and supply the fuel into aircraft at key hubs across North America. With its first plant currently under construction in Nevada, Fulcrum has already signed similar equity investment and offtake agreements with Cathay Pacific Airways and United Airlines. Read more ...
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Airport executives meet in Amsterdam to pledge joint action on the sector's sustainability and resilience
Wed 2 Nov 2016 - Sixteen airports and airport authorities have come together to sign a declaration pledging to become more sustainable. An initiative of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, it was signed during the Airports Going Green conference taking place in Amsterdam. By increasingly working together, sharing successes and experiences, innovating and challenging their own organisations and business partners to think and act more sustainably, "the airports intend to take significant action towards increasing their sustainability," says Schiphol. The timing of the declaration is intended to tie with developments such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris COP21 outcome and the recent ICAO agreement on capping net aviation emissions. In a keynote to the conference, Dutch environment minister Sharon Dijksma said the ICAO scheme was a start in the journey to cut aviation emissions but given the expected growth of the sector, more would be needed. Read more ...
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Fast-growing Qatar Airways' carbon emissions increase by a fifth but efficiency performance improves
Wed 2 Nov 2016 - Fast-growing Qatar Airways saw a 20.4 per cent increase in carbon emissions in its 2015/16 financial year compared to the previous year. However, its overall carbon efficiency improved by 1.4 per cent from 0.807kg CO2/RTK in 2014/15 to 0.796kg CO2/RTK. The airline's fleet at the end of the 2015/16 year comprised 77 Boeing and 103 Airbus aircraft, with an average age of 5.4 years that makes it one of the youngest in the industry. It currently has more than 300 new aircraft on order or option, including 72 Airbus A350 XWB and 80 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. According to its latest 2015-2016 sustainability report, the airline was accredited by IATA's environmental assessment programme during the year and Doha's Hamad International Airport, which is operated by Qatar Airways Group, was also accredited under ACI's airport carbon programme. Read more ...
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Sea-Tac financing initiative aims to provide routine airport-wide sustainable aviation biofuel supply
Mon 31 Oct 2016 - The Port of Seattle has joined with Carbon War Room and SkyNRG to investigate long-term financing mechanisms that could provide a supply of cost-effective sustainable aviation fuels to all airlines serving Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). At present, point out the partners, supply agreements in the United States are being made through individual, expensive offtake contracts between biofuel producers and airlines. This new initiative aims to accelerate the transition of sustainable aviation fuel from an alternative product used by a few select airlines to a standard product available to all airlines at an airport, they say. Carbon War Room (CWR), founded by Richard Branson in 2009 and now a business unit of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and SkyNRG see airports as acting as a key orchestrator in the procurement and delivery process. Sea-Tac is currently assessing costs and infrastructure necessary to deliver sustainable aviation fuels to aircraft at the airport. Read more ...
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New ASPIRE routes by Singapore Airlines and Hawaiian expected to save over 5,200 tonnes of CO2 annually
Thu 27 Oct 2016 - Two new routes involving fuel and emission reduction strategies have been opened up as a result of the Asia South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE) programme. Since its establishment in 2008, the initiative's partner airlines and air navigation agencies have implemented 30 ASPIRE Daily City Pairs across the region and the latest additions involve Singapore Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The Singapore Airlines' service, dubbed the Capital Express, is a new multi-sector route inaugurated last month between Singapore, Canberra and Wellington. Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority (CAAS), Airservices Australia and Airways New Zealand say all flights on the route will make use of ASPIRE practices that should save around 1,500 tonnes of fuel and 4,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the course of a year. Hawaiian's three weekly flights using an Airbus A330 aircraft between Honolulu and Brisbane are expected to realise potential annual savings of 670 tonnes of emissions. Read more ...
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ICAO GMBM agreement a hard-fought compromise and a first step, say NGOs, but falls short of temperature goals
Tue 25 Oct 2016 - While welcoming the adoption of a global market-based measure (GMBM) by ICAO member nations to address fast-growing international aviation carbon emissions, environmental NGOs say its coverage falls short of the UN agency's own target of capping the sector's net emissions from 2020 and is not aligned with the temperature goals of the Paris climate agreement. They call on ICAO States to use a three-year review provision to ratchet up ambition of the new carbon offsetting scheme. Speaking at an aviation industry conference in London last week, the NGOs' lead representative at ICAO, Tim Johnson, said the ICAO Assembly outcome had been a hard-fought political compromise but was just a first step and critical work remained to ensure the environmental integrity of the scheme. Coverage had to be expanded in the initial six-year voluntary phase beyond the current 66 countries so far agreeing to participate, he added. Read more ...
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Industry welcomes ICAO adoption of global carbon offsetting scheme and looks ahead to next phase
Fri 14 Oct 2016 - Seven years after first proposing a global market-based measure as part of a strategy to address its impact on climate change, last week's agreement by countries at the ICAO Assembly to start the CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme from 2021 is a landmark moment for the aviation industry. The carbon-neutral growth from 2020 (CNG2020) mid-term target set by industry - it has a long-term ambition to cut net emissions in half by 2050 - went too far for some important aviation countries to sign up to, and the permitted exemptions and voluntary nature of the early stages of the scheme means CNG2020 will likely be unreachable. But the international agreement is welcome relief for an industry left out of the wider climate negotiations at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris last December and enduring criticism from some quarters for failing to adequately address its fast-growing carbon emissions. Read more ...
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ICAO enjoys its Paris moment as countries adopt climate resolution to address emissions from international aviation
Mon 10 Oct 2016 - The achievement by ICAO Member States to forge a consensus on adopting a resolution at their 39th Assembly that launches the CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme for international aviation from 2021 has been widely acclaimed as "historic". It comes within days of the threshold being reached to allow an early ratification of the Paris climate agreement. Depending on the number of countries that eventually sign up to participate in CORSIA from the start in 2021 of the six-year voluntary pilot and first phases, up to 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions could be offset over the duration of the scheme, which will run to 2035. By the end of the Assembly, 65 countries had agreed to voluntarily participate, representing 86.5 per cent of international aviation activity, says ICAO, although emissions coverage will be lower due to route exemptions. A number of high activity states from the developing world have though raised objections to the scheme’s aim of carbon-neutral growth. Read more ...
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Airport carbon programme shows fall in annual overall CO2 reductions but improved efficiency of operations
Thu 6 Oct 2016 - Trade body Airports Council International (ACI) has reported 170 airports around the world are now participating in the industry's Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, with 26 airports, mainly in Europe, reaching the highest carbon neutrality level. Despite the growing numbers of airports taking part and others moving up the levels in the programme, the collective reduction of CO2 in 2015/16 fell to 206,090 tonnes from 212,460 tonnes in the previous year. However, momentum continues to build, reported ACI World Director General Angela Gittens at the organisation's Annual General Assembly last week. The event was also marked by the launch of the new 4.0 version of the Airport Carbon and Emissions Reporting Tool (ACERT), which has been specially designed to be compatible with all four levels of the programme. Read more ...
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ICAO States ready to overwhelmingly endorse proposal for global carbon scheme
Thu 6 Oct 2016 - Countries are poised to overwhelmingly adopt an ICAO Assembly resolution today that paves the way for the introduction of the global CORSIA offsetting scheme to address CO2 emissions from international aviation. After a six-day hiatus to allow bilateral behind-the-scenes talks on resolving areas of contention in the draft text of the resolution, a meeting of the Assembly's Executive Committee took place yesterday afternoon. States were invited to respond to small changes to the text first presented, which were endorsed by nearly all those present. However, Russia, India, Brazil and, to an extent, China still have concerns over the proposed scheme and also its climate neutrality goal but States from elsewhere in the world lined up to call for no further changes. The Committee meeting resumes this morning and the resolution is then expected to be adopted at a full plenary session by the end of the morning. Read more ...
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ICAO extends emissions reduction capacity-building project with the EU as it receives its 100th State Action Plan
Fri 30 Sept 2016 - Away from the spotlight on the GMBM discussions at its 39th Assembly, ICAO has announced it has received its 100th Action Plan from States that collectively represent 89.9 per cent of international aviation activity. The Action Plan initiative was set up after the adoption of a resolution at the 37th Assembly in 2010 that invited States to voluntarily demonstrate their commitment to the environment and outline strategies to mitigate their international aviation CO2 emissions. The ICAO Secretariat has since embarked on an extensive assistance programme to support States, particularly those from the developing world, with their plans. The effort has been aided by a European Union dedicated capacity-building and assistance project that started in 2013 involving 14 States - 12 in Africa and two in the Caribbean - which have each now submitted quantified Action Plans. On Monday, the European Commission and ICAO signed a Declaration of Intent to continue the cooperation. Read more ...
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States queue up to endorse immediate adoption of GMBM resolution although opposition from BRICs
Thu 29 Sept 2016 - On the first full day of discussions at the ICAO Assembly on the CORSIA global carbon scheme, reports suggest the great majority of government representatives have backed the draft resolution almost in its entirety. Interventions by countries from both the developed and developing world queued up to endorse the resolution and called for its adoption. However, the BRIC States - Brazil, Russian Federation, India and China - expressed their concerns over the scheme and even called into question the carbon-neutral growth goal from 2020. Although Brazil and India had already signalled their intention not to join the voluntary phases, with Russia a long-standing opponent of market-based measures, China has been expected to join. The Executive Committee, which is handling the discussions, will now meet in the morning to wrap up proceedings and report to a plenary session next week. Optimism is high an agreement can be reached, with or without the BRICs. (Updated Sept 30) Read more ...
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ICAO GMBM must address key environmental integrity concerns and broaden participation, say NGOs
Thu 29 Sept 2016 - Environmental NGO umbrella group ICSA has identified a number of key concerns in the GMBM proposal it wants addressed during the ICAO Assembly negotiations that start in earnest today. With the Paris climate agreement shortly to reach the necessary level of ratification by countries to come into force, ICSA fears ambition in the current ICAO text is insufficient to confront fast-growing emissions from international aviation and places in jeopardy the goals set in Paris. The group says more States need to commit to joining the initial six-year voluntary phase of the CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme in order to reach the sector's carbon-neutral growth from 2020 target. Although ICAO calculates over 80 per cent of international activity is already covered by the 60-plus countries that have so far indicated their participation in the scheme from the start, ICSA argues these commitments will only offset three-quarters of emissions growth after 2020 due to exemptions and exclusions. (Update Sept 30) Read more ...
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Global aviation CO2 scheme proposal is a pragmatic compromise that must be implemented, says IATA chief
Wed 28 Sept 2016 - As government representatives start their deliberations today on finalising consensus on the CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme to cap net emissions from international aviation from 2020, the industry has urged them to agree on what would be the world’s first sectoral mechanism for tackling climate change. While the industry would have preferred a mandatory rather than initial voluntary approach covering all ICAO States, IATA's new Director General, Alexandre de Juniac, said the current proposal was a pragmatic compromise. IATA says the scheme "must focus on real emissions reductions", take into consideration differing circumstances of airlines based on maturity of markets and not distort competition. To coincide with the Assembly and to encourage governments to support CORSIA, cross-industry group ATAG has put together a series of videos featuring young aviation professionals calling for early environmental action. Read more ...
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As Assembly gets underway, ICAO President and UN Secretary-General urge States to deliver GMBM
Tue 27 Sept 2016 - After nearly 20 years of painfully slow progress, the long-awaited opportunity for the world's governments to show leadership in addressing fast-growing carbon emissions from international aviation has finally arrived. Around 2,000 delegates from 191 countries are expected in Montreal for the two-week 39th ICAO Assembly (A39) starting today. High on the agenda is the proposal for a global market-based measure (GMBM) that aims to cap net emissions from the sector at 2020 levels (CNG2020) through a carbon offsetting scheme. Despite a number of formal meetings at ICAO this year to hammer out a consensus, along with many bilateral and multilateral negotiations between States, there remain a number of outstanding issues to be settled during the Assembly. Although a positive outcome is expected, it may not emerge until the final days. So far, around 58 States have volunteered their willingness to take part in the scheme from the start, with more expected to join during the Assembly. Read more ...
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Fuel consumption of new aircraft could be reduced by 40% within 20 years using emerging technologies
Tue 27 Sept 2016 - The fuel consumption of new aircraft designs can be reduced by around 25 per cent in 2024 and 40 per cent in 2034 compared with today's aircraft by deploying emerging cost-effective technologies, finds a new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). This represents a more than doubling of average annual fuel efficiency improvement from slightly less than 1 per cent since 1980 to 2.2 per cent by 2034. The industry's preference of late for the re-engining of aircraft rather than 'clean sheet' designs means key airframe technologies to improve fuel efficiency are being under-deployed, argues ICCT. Based on fleet forecasts, US airlines alone could save around 71 billion gallons of jet fuel, or more than 20 per cent of total consumption, over the 2025 to 2050 timeframe through new aircraft technologies. With the additional benefits to the environment and consumers, this is equal to cost savings of about $285 billion based on current fuel prices. Read more ...
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Design features of the EU’s aviation ETS should be strengthened to deliver real emissions reductions, finds T&E report
Thu 22 Sept 2016 - Despite imperfections, the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has functioned well and enjoys a high degree of compliance, finds a new report by Transport and Environment (T&E) that analyses performance over the 2013-2015 period. Even allowing for the reduced scope covering just intra-European flights, the cost to airlines has been far less than industry first predicted, says the Brussels-based NGO. T&E has proposed changes and reforms to the EU ETS to realise greater emissions reductions from the sector. Without further legislative intervention, the EU ETS will automatically 'snap back' from 2017 to include coverage of all flights between Europe and third countries pending a decision by countries on the proposed ICAO global carbon measure, and the European Commission is currently consulting on the EU scheme’s future. Read more ...
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JetBlue signs with SG Preston in one of the largest ever airline renewable jet fuel offtake agreements
Tue 20 Sept 2016 - JetBlue has signed a 10-year binding deal with bioenergy company SG Preston in what it describes as one of the airline industry's largest ever renewable jet fuel offtake agreements. The carrier plans to purchase more than 33 million gallons of blended jet fuel per year over the period. The blend is to be made up of 30 per cent HEFA-derived renewable fuel produced from sustainable non-food plant oils that is targeted to achieve a 50 per cent or higher reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a per gallon life-cycle basis compared to the fossil equivalent. JetBlue is looking to supply the fuel to New York area airports from 2019 and the amount purchased is equal to around 20 per cent of the airline's annual fuel consumption at New York JFK. This is a first entry into the aviation market for Philadelphia-based SG Preston, which has ambitions for five 120 million gallon per year renewable jet and diesel facilities in the US and Canada. Read more ...
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Paris high ambition countries call for urgent action on aviation emissions and a robust global carbon scheme
Mon 19 Sept 2016 - Members of the High Ambition Coalition, which played a pivotal role in the successful outcome of the global climate negotiations last December that resulted in the Paris Agreement, have joined forces to call for urgent action to curb the growth of emissions from the aviation sector. Representing both the developed and developing world, Mexico, the Marshall Islands and the European Union have issued a joint statement saying it was "time for us to make history again" and for countries to work to secure an ambitious and robust global market-based measure (GMBM) at the forthcoming ICAO 39th Assembly. It was crucial there was a broad participation of countries in the scheme, they said, and the widest possible emissions coverage. However, another key member of the Coalition in Paris, Brazil, has indicated it is unlikely to join the voluntary phase of the scheme (2021-2026) as it did not produce enough emissions to justify doing so. (Updated Sept 20 & 21) Read more ...
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Environmental NGOs fear voluntary participation in global aviation scheme will undermine carbon neutrality goal
Fri 16 Sept 2016 - Environmental NGOs have expressed strong reservations with elements of the proposed global market-based carbon scheme that will shortly be presented for approval by ICAO's Member States at their upcoming Assembly that starts on September 27 in Montreal. They fear that relying on voluntary and unguaranteed participation in the initial phases of the scheme and what they see as weak environmental safeguards in the draft text will undermine the principle goal of achieving the carbon-neutral growth of international aviation emissions after 2020 (CNG2020). The level of ambition of the proposals falls well short of the climate commitment required by the global Paris Agreement, they argue, and have set out a number of measures that should be taken to strengthen the scheme's environmental integrity. Read more ...
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LanzaTech achieves breakthrough with first batch of sustainable jet fuel to be produced from ethanol
Wed 14 Sept 2016 - Alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel developer LanzaTech has succeeded in producing a batch of 1,500 US gallons of low carbon jet fuel from its ethanol product, which will now be used for additional testing as part of the ASTM fuel certification process required for commercial aviation use. The Chicago-based company and its partner Virgin Atlantic are working with Boeing, aircraft engine manufacturers and others involved in the process towards approval now anticipated in 2017, which would include a proving flight using the fuel. LanzaTech's technology captures waste carbon monoxide gases emitted from steel production plants and converts them into ethanol through fermentation, which can then be used as a feedstock for a variety of products, including aviation fuel. The Lanzanol batch was produced at a facility in China and shipped to the US, where it went through a final conversion to jet fuel by the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Read more ...
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KLM and Lufthansa sign long-term agreements with US sustainable biofuel producers AltAir and Gevo
Mon 12 Sept 2016 - European airlines KLM and Lufthansa have each signed agreements with US biofuel companies for supplies of locally-produced sustainable fuels. KLM has agreed to purchase through a three-year offtake agreement an undisclosed quantity of used cooking oil based fuel produced by AltAir and supplied by Amsterdam-based SkyNRG. The fuel will be used on all KLM flights departing from Los Angeles and will be delivered to aircraft through the airport's hydrant system. Gevo, meanwhile, has entered into a non-binding heads of agreement with Lufthansa to supply up to 8 million gallons annually of alcohol-to-jet fuel over a five-year period once its intended first commercial-scale facility in Minnesota is up and running. Read more ...
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ICAO carbon offsetting scheme moves a step closer to agreement as Council releases final draft resolution text
Sat 3 Sept 2016 - ICAO's 36-State governing Council has released final draft text of a Resolution to be put before the UN agency's triennial Assembly later this month on a global market-based measure (GMBM) aimed at keeping global net CO2 emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels. The new text moves away from a mandatory scheme from the beginning to a voluntary pilot and first phase covering the first six years (2021-2026). The second mandatory phase, which would run from 2027 to the proposed end of the carbon offsetting scheme in 2035, would exempt least developed countries and those with the lowest share of international aviation activity. However, all ICAO Member States are "strongly encouraged to voluntarily participate as early as possible." Some countries have already announced their participation but attention will now be focused on the intentions of the major aviation carbon emitters. (Updated Sept 6) Read more ...
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Heathrow to add 50 new noise monitors as part of latest 10-step noise reduction strategy
Fri 26 Aug 2016 - As a result of engagement with resident groups, London's Heathrow Airport is installing 50 new noise monitors in the local area as well as upgrading its existing monitoring network. The airport says the new monitors will help the airport and residents gain a better understanding of local noise impacts and will complement the modelling of the existing fixed and mobile monitors, and plans to use the system to provide real-time measurements to residents. This is one of 10 steps set out by Heathrow in its second 'Blueprint for Noise Reductions' just released that include the launch of a web-based tool for residents to access flight data specific to their locations and establishing a voluntary Quiet Night Charter to reduce the impact of night operations. Read more ...
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French authorities seize Polish charter carrier aircraft over non-payment of airport noise violation fines
Thu 25 Aug 2016 - The French airport nuisance authority ACNUSA has briefly seized an aircraft belonging to Enter Air, Poland's biggest charter operator, over non-payment of noise disturbance fines totalling over EUR1.1 million ($1.24m). The B737-800 aircraft was held at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport for around five hours on August 10 before the fines were settled. According to ACNUSA, the airline committed over 80 violations of night-time restrictions at CDG between 2013 and 2014, which resulted in the fines. The authority, which has to date issued 5,642 fines totalling EUR45,354,120 ($51m) against nearly 1,000 aircraft operators, said this was the first time it had seized an aircraft and the precedent sent a strong warning to other airlines. Read more ...
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Time running out for ICAO States to agree on participation in global carbon scheme for international aviation
Mon 22 Aug 2016 - A two-day meeting of ICAO Member States gets underway today in Montreal that will attempt to bridge key differences on a global market-based measure (GMBM) scheme to cap international aviation emissions from 2020 before ICAO's triennial Assembly starts later next month. The closed-door meeting will seek to agree compromise text on a draft Assembly resolution on which States should participate in the scheme from the beginning and how offsetting requirements should be distributed. There are fears that a proposed initial five-year implementation phase could be switched from a mandatory to a voluntary opt-in basis that could lead to a sharp fall in coverage of international aviation emissions. Meanwhile, analysis carried out by a carbon policy website suggests air transport could consume a quarter of the global 1.5C carbon budget by 2050. Read more ...
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Dallas Fort Worth becomes the first North American airport to achieve carbon neutrality
Wed 17 Aug 2016 - Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) has become the first airport in North America to achieve carbon neutral status in the industry's Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) certification programme. It joins 23 other, mainly European, airports to reach this highest level, which requires the airport to purchase carbon offsets for those direct and indirect emissions over which it has control, having already fulfilled the requirements of the three lower levels of the programme. Since 2010, points out DFW, it has achieved a 29 per cent reduction in carbon emissions as well as an overall 38 per cent reduction in energy costs. During the same period, total passengers increased by 15 per cent. The airport says it is committed to using renewable sources for its electrical consumption and its vehicle fleet has been almost completely converted to compressed natural gas. Read more ...
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US government lays out R&D strategy to address key challenges hindering development of alternative jet fuels
Fri 29 July 2016 - The White House has released a US federal strategy setting out prioritised R&D goals and objectives to address key scientific and technical challenges that are holding back the development, production and use of economically viable alternative jet fuels (AJFs) at commercial scale. With input from a range of federal and non-federal stakeholders, the strategy has been put together by an interagency working group made up of expert representatives from across government. Despite significant progress by commercial and military aviation over the past decade to develop, evaluate and deploy AJFs, there are not as yet sufficient volumes that can compete on price with petroleum fuel to meet the needs of the aviation industry, say research officials. Cooperation between the federal government and the private sector, including industry, NGOs and academia, as well as international coordination, will be crucial to addressing the challenges, says the strategy report. Read more ...
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Lufthansa Group fails for the first time to improve annual fuel efficiency of its fleet
Thu 28 July 2016 - After years of continuous improvement, Lufthansa Group's fuel efficiency gains stalled in 2015, just matching the achievement of the previous year. The group's specific fuel consumption measurement recorded an overall 3.84 litres per 100 passenger kilometres (l/100pkm) on its passenger operations, and freight transportation specific fuel consumption increased from 221 g/km in 2014 to 225 g/km in 2015. Overall carbon emissions rose from 27.8 million tonnes (Mt) in 2014 to nearly 28.2 Mt in 2015, a 1.4 per cent increase. This year, the Group will add 52 new, more efficient aircraft to its fleet and is the first to operate the new Airbus A320neo, with the A350-900 entering next winter. The new Bombardier CSeries has just entered service with its Swiss subsidiary. The Group said it was also working to improve its carbon footprint through over 500 fuel efficiency programmes it has started since 2013. Read more ...
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Virgin Atlantic records small decline in fuel efficiency as it awaits positive impact of new 787s and A350s
Wed 27 July 2016 - Although posting a strong financial performance last year after having moved back into profitability in 2014, long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic suffered a blip last year when the overall fuel efficiency of its fleet declined marginally. The airline's CO2 per revenue tonne-kilometre (RTK) in 2015 was measured at 0.791 kg, a 9 per cent reduction since a 2007 baseline but a 1 per cent increase on 2014. The fall in inefficiency was due to fleet and network changes, the later than expected entry into the fleet of new Boeing 787s and slightly lower passenger and cargo loads, says the airline. However, better progress was made on reducing the noise output of its aircraft and is on track towards reaching a 2020 target. The airline reports delays in the certification process is holding back a planned 'proving' flight using sustainable fuel produced by partner LanzaTech. Read more ...
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The inclusion of Swiss flights in the EU ETS under ‘Stop the clock’ is lawful, says ECJ Advocate General
Tue 26 July 2016 - The continued inclusion of flights between the EU and Switzerland in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is justified and legal, a senior advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. The 'Stop the clock' decision by the EU in 2013 to temporarily suspend the obligation for airlines to monitor and report emissions and to surrender allowances in respect of flights between EEA States - EU plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - and most third countries did not extend the moratorium to Switzerland. In the ongoing case, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has argued this was unequal treatment under EU law and is seeking recompense for the allowances it was required to purchase and surrender to cover emissions from flights between EEA States and Switzerland in 2012. Read more ...
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EPA issues endangerment finding that paves the way for aircraft GHG regulation in the US
Mon 25 July 2016 - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final finding that confirms greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from aircraft are a significant contributor to air pollution and climate change. Although the EPA does not propose what action should be taken in its endangerment finding, the move paves the way for mandatory GHG standards for US aircraft, the only transportation sector not yet subject to such national regulation. The government agency said it was concerned with FAA projections that GHG emissions from aircraft are likely to increase by 43 per cent between 2010 and 2036, while light vehicle and rail emissions are forecast to fall. Following a long legal campaign to force the EPA to act on aircraft emissions, environmental groups welcomed the move and called on it to enforce stronger standards than those proposed by ICAO's environmental technical committee CAEP in February. (Updated July 27) Read more ...
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NATS achieves emissions reductions but increasing air traffic poses an environmental performance challenge
Mon 25 July 2016 - UK air navigation service provider (ANSP) NATS achieved a reduction of 34,195 tonnes in ATM-related CO2 emissions in 2015, according to its latest annual Responsible Business report, but this masks a tough challenge it is facing to reach an ambitious 2020 goal of reducing overall emissions from aircraft under its control by 10 per cent against a 2006 baseline. Although it has made strides in airspace improvements and procedural changes to aircraft operations, a rebound in air traffic since a downturn towards the end of the last decade has added to the task ahead. NATS' Head of Environmental and Community Affairs, Ian Jopson, explained the action NATS is undertaking to reduce both carbon emissions and the impact of aircraft noise on communities. As current Chair of Sustainable Aviation, Jopson also outlined the future direction of the UK cross-industry group. Read more ...
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European airlines and NGOs step up pressure for agreement on global CO2 scheme for international aviation
Wed 20 July 2016 - With just two months before the start of the ICAO Assembly, airlines and environmental NGOs are stepping up pressure on governments to reach an agreement on a global scheme to tackle growing carbon emissions from international aviation. So too is the European Commission, which today reaffirmed its support for the measure in a report laying out its strategy for a low-emission transport future in Europe, saying it will review the EU's own aviation ETS scheme in the light of the ICAO outcome. New European airline trade body A4E welcomed the Commission's commitment, adding it expected the EU to replace the ETS with the global scheme. However, NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) warned that EU efforts to decarbonise ground transport would be offset by increases in emissions from aviation and shipping. Meanwhile, a meeting has been convened at ICAO next month to discuss progress by States on the scheme. Read more ...
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Produced from high-energy tobacco crops, SAA undertakes Africa’s first sustainable biofuel commercial flight
Fri 15 July 2016 - Africa's first sustainable biofuel commercial flight took place today when a South African Airways (SAA) Boeing 737-800 flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town used a jet fuel produced from nicotine-free tobacco plants grown in the Limpopo region of South Africa under the Solaris project. The initiative is a collaboration involving SAA, Boeing, SkyNRG, WWF-SA and Sunchem, which is the developer of the novel energy tobacco crop. Cultivated by smallholder and commercial farmers, the Solaris crop is expected to provide an opportunity to grow sustainable bioenergy resources while stimulating socio-economic development in the region. Strong support for the project has come from the Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), and both Sunchem and SkyNRG are both certified by the sustainability body. The fuel for the flight was refined by AltAir, which is currently undergoing RSB certification. Read more ...
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Boeing partners with Embraer in next phase of ecoDemonstrator test programme
Thu 14 July 2016 - The next phase of Boeing's ecoDemonstrator environmental test programme will involve an Embraer 170, the first time a non-Boeing aircraft has been used. It will test a variety of new technologies intended to boost fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and noise, and flights will also be powered by a Brazilian-produced biofuel blend. The E170 will serve as the flying testbed and will undergo operational testing in Brazil during August and September. Technologies that will be employed include LIDAR, 'ice phobic' aircraft paint, a new wing design to reduce noise and special sensors to better understand in-flight aerodynamics. The collaboration marks another step in the relationship between the two aircraft manufacturers that began in 2012 when they signed a cooperation agreement. Meanwhile, Boeing has increased its projection for new aircraft demand to 39,620 deliveries over the next 20 years. Read more ...
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United marks new service to Auckland with green flight operated under ASPIRE initiative
Wed 6 July 2016 - United Airlines marked the opening of its new route from San Francisco to Auckland last weekend with a 'green' flight conducted under the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE). During the inaugural flight, operated with a Boeing 787-800, the carrier used ASPIRE best practices that included user preferred route and dynamic airborne re-route procedures to follow a flexible fuel efficient flight path that could be changed at various stages to take advantage of favourable winds. Air traffic controllers on the ground at both ends of the journey managed the flight's arrival and departure to ensure optimal efficiency. Data and metrics from the flight will now be assessed. ASPIRE is a partnership of air navigation service providers and airlines from the Pacific region to develop gate-to-gate flight procedures and standards that limit fuel burn and carbon emissions. Read more ...
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Six airlines singled out in latest NRDC survey as leaders in development of sustainably-sourced aviation biofuels
Fri 1 July 2016 - US environmental NGO Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has released its third annual Aviation Biofuel Sustainability Scorecard, which surveyed and ranked 29 airlines on sourcing sustainably produced biofuels. Just 19 of those airlines responded to NRDC's questionnaire, although this was an improvement of two over the previous year. For the 2016 Scorecard, NRDC grouped airlines into four categories - Leading, Advancing, Basic and Nonresponsive - that were based on commitments to sustainable fuel supply chain development, sustainable fuel use, and monitoring and disclosure. If airlines are going to meet carbon emissions targets, new low-carbon fuel sourcing is essential, says NRDC, but these fuels must demonstrate reduced emissions across their entire life-cycles and address other sustainability concerns. Read more ...
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New generation Boeing Dreamliners resulting in improved noise performance at airport, says Heathrow
Thu 30 June 2016 - The introduction of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is credited with an overall improvement in noise performance at London's Heathrow Airport, according to the latest Fly Quiet league table published by the airport. Singled out for praise is Virgin Atlantic, which is in the process of replacing its old 747-400s with new Dreamliners, although other airlines such as Air Canada, Air India, British Airways and Qatar Airways have also significantly increased the use of the new-generation aircraft on Heathrow routes. The airport says it is on track to become the first large European airport to be completely free of the oldest and noisiest Chapter 3 classification aircraft, which attract high landing fees. On average, airlines pay 10 times more to fly Chapter 3 planes to Heathrow compared to the quietest aircraft such as the Dreamliner. Read more ...
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Groundbreaking aviation biofuel supply initiative wins Oslo Airport industry environment award
Mon 27 June 2016 - Oslo Airport is the recipient of this year's Eco-Innovation Award from the independent advisory board of the industry's carbon management programme, Airport Carbon Accreditation. Presented during ACI Europe's annual congress in Athens, the judges in particular praised the airport for its ground-breaking project in setting up earlier this year a regular supply of jet biofuel through its existing fuel farm and hydrant dispenser system to all airlines serving the airport. Based on a collaboration with airlines, fuel companies and biofuel producers, the judges said it should be an example to be followed by other airports aiming to reduce their environmental footprint. During its congress, ACI Europe released annual results that show 107 airports across Europe are now part of the carbon programme, with 22 airports, including Oslo, at the highest carbon neutrality level. Read more ...
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Behavioural economics can nudge pilots into boosting fuel and carbon efficiency, finds Virgin Atlantic study
Fri 24 June 2016 - Behavioural economics could be one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving fuel and carbon efficiency savings from airlines, finds an academic study involving Virgin Atlantic captains. Working with research economists from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics, the airline's fuel efficiency and sustainability teams developed a process that increased the awareness of Virgin's 335 captains of the measures they could take to improve fuel efficiency through three sets of behaviours: take-off, in the air and upon arrival. As part of the eight-month study, captains were randomised into one of four groups, including one 'business as usual' control group and three active intervention groups. Data from more than 42,000 flights was independently analysed, and the result was fuel savings of £3.3 million ($4.5m) at 2014 prices and CO2 emissions reductions of 21,500 tonnes. Read more ...
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EU emissions from international flights rise 1.6% in 2014 to overtake those from shipping for the first time
Tue 21 June 2016 - EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2014 from international aviation overtook those from international shipping for the first time as they increased by 95 per cent between 1990 and 2014 compared to shipping's rise of 24 per cent during the same period. Together, the two sectors accounted for around 6 per cent of total EU GHG emissions in 2014. Compared to 2013, EU GHG emissions from international aviation rose by 1.6 per cent in 2014 while emissions from domestic aviation fell by 0.8 per cent. Overall GHG emissions for the 28 EU member states plus Iceland in 2014 were 24.4 per cent below 1990 levels and decreased by 4.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014. GHG emissions decreased in the majority of sectors, reports the European Environment Agency (EEA) in its latest annual EU GHG inventory report, with the notable exceptions of road transport - responsible for the largest increase - and international aviation and shipping. Read more ...
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If we don’t work in partnership, we won’t reach industry 2050 CO2 reduction target, warns Qantas chief
Fri 17 June 2016 - Although there is a current focus on achieving a goal of climate neutral growth from 2020, the aviation industry also has a long-term target of cutting net CO2 emissions by half by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. At IATA's recent annual meeting in Dublin, representatives from industry, academia and NGOs came together in a panel session to discuss what was needed to reach it. There was no doubt, said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, the environmental challenge would be one of the biggest facing the industry over the coming decades and it would require all sectors to work closely together and with government on the issue. The 2050 target was very aggressive, he said, with no silver bullet on how to achieve it and would require many different global technology, operational and infrastructure initiatives, particularly on sustainable alternative fuels. Read more ...
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Amyris/Total enter into two-year agreement to supply renewable jet fuel for Cathay Pacific A350 delivery flights
Wed 15 June 2016 - A 10 per cent blend of Amyris renewable jet fuel was used to power the delivery flight of the first Airbus A350 XWB to enter the Cathay Pacific fleet. With support from fuel giant Total, the flight marked the start of an agreement with Cathay that will see the blended sustainable sugar cane-derived fuel used on all A350 delivery flights over the next two years. The A350-900 flight from the manufacturer's base in Toulouse to Hong Kong was the longest to date using renewable jet fuel, claim the partners. The combination of the new aircraft's 25 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and the renewable fuel's properties resulted in an estimated 30 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to flights of the aircraft it will replace. In 2014, Cathay also entered into an equity deal and offtake agreement with US municipal solid waste to jet fuel developer Fulcrum BioEnergy. Read more ...
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Sufficient supply of high quality carbon credits and sustainable fuels to meet aviation CO2 goals, finds study
Wed 15 June 2016 - A study commissioned by WWF finds airlines could meet most of their carbon-neutral growth (CNG) requirements during the 2020-2035 period even if they focus on buying carbon credits for which there is both a high confidence in greenhouse gas reductions and demonstrable benefits under the UN's sustainable development goals. Although there is greater uncertainty in how the supply of alternative jet fuels can contribute to the ICAO CNG goal, the study shows those fuels with appropriate eligibility criteria to advance sustainable development objectives could yield GHG reductions of up to 9 per cent of the goal. WWF is calling on ICAO to send a clear signal in its forthcoming Assembly Resolution on a global market-based measure (GMBM) that only carbon credits and alternative fuels that achieve real emissions reductions and promote sustainable development will be recognised, and detailed rules are finalised as soon as possible. Read more ...
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Alaska undertakes first commercial flights to use Gevo's newly-approved alcohol-to-jet renewable fuel
Fri 10 June 2016 - Two Alaska Airlines flights departed Seattle for San Francisco and Washington DC on Tuesday fuelled by a 20 per cent blend of Gevo's renewable alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel, the first commercial flights to use the fuel since it was approved by fuel standards body ASTM International in April. Around 1,500 gallons of renewable fuel was used on the flights and was derived from sustainable non-edible field corn grown in South Dakota. Alaska estimates the blend used for the two flights reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent. The use of such fuels is part of a long-term commitment to its sustainability strategy, says the airline, and in November 2011 became the first US carrier to fly multiple commercial passenger flights - 75 in all - using biofuel from used cooking oil. Read more ...
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Persuading governments to adopt global carbon scheme would be one of IATA's greatest achievements, says Walsh
Thu 9 June 2016 - The new Chairman of IATA's Board of Directors and CEO of International Airlines Group, Willie Walsh, told the media at the conclusion of last week’s AGM in Dublin that he was of "the firm belief" ICAO states will agree at their forthcoming Assembly a scheme to address international aviation’s carbon emissions. If so, he said, to have influenced governments to adopt the measure would be one of IATA's greatest achievements. Outgoing IATA Director General Tony Tyler said the decision was in the hands of governments but airlines and the wider air transport community had played an important role in helping to focus their thinking. A resolution passed at the AGM was intended to send ICAO states during their ongoing negotiations a strong signal that industry wanted them to adopt the measure, added IATA Senior Vice President Paul Steele. Read more ...
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Airline industry comes together to urge governments to adopt global carbon offset mechanism
Thu 2 June 2016 - The biggest item on our agenda this year is the environment, announced Director General Tony Tyler to journalists at the start of IATA's Annual General Meeting of the world's airlines in Dublin today. One of the earliest resolutions to be passed - overwhelmingly, according to IATA - was a resolution urging governments to adopt a single global carbon offset mechanism to address carbon emissions from international aviation at the ICAO Assembly this autumn. To achieve the industry's goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020, we need a mandatory global carbon offset scheme in addition to other measures, said Tyler. In a keynote address, however, Ireland's Transport Minister, Shane Ross, warned even with rapid developments in technology, aviation would struggle along with other industries to reconcile its rapid growth with its environmental footprint. Read more ...
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Canadian jet biofuel initiative selects Montreal-Trudeau for co-mingled fuel supply project
Wed 1 June 2016 – Montreal-Trudeau Airport has been chosen by Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI) for a project to supply aircraft with sustainable aviation biofuel from a shared fuel system. The three-year collaboration involving 14 stakeholder organisations, including Air Canada, is aiming to introduce 400,000 litres of biojet. Previous Air Canada biofuel flights used biojet that was segregated from regular jet fuel and loaded separately into an aircraft by a tanker but CBSCI is looking to develop a more efficient operational framework that will make use of a multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel supply system. The first of its kind in the country, the objective of the CBSCI project is to create a sustainable Canadian supply chain of biojet using renewable feedstocks. Read more ...
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Industry carbon reduction programme now extends to over 150 airports worldwide
Wed 1 June 2016 - During the COP21 climate summit in Paris last December, airport industry organisations ACI World and ACI Europe signed an MoU with the UNFCCC to promote the UN climate agency's Climate Neutral Now project and jointly encourage airports to reach the highest levels of the industry's Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme. Nearly six months on, ACI has released an update on progress that shows ACA status has now been earned by 157 airports across the world, which collectively handle 33 per cent of global passenger traffic. Of these, 21 airports have now achieved the highest Level 3+ representing carbon neutrality, with Turkey's Izmir Adnan Menderes the latest to join the ranks. Originally developed and launched by ACI Europe exactly seven years ago, the ACA was extended to airports in Asia-Pacific in 2011 in partnership with ACI Asia-Pacific and has since been rolled out in all other ACI regions. Read more ...
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Analysis: Unpicking the complex ground rules for international aviation's proposed global carbon emissions scheme
Wed 1 June 2016 - The recent High-level Meeting (HLM) of ICAO member states to consider a draft proposal on a global market-based measure (GMBM) scheme to address fast-growing carbon emissions from international aviation was seen by some as being marred by deep divisions. But those close to the negotiations are now more confident an agreement will be reached. Reporting significant progress during the talks on finding areas of common agreement, ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu acknowledged though there was "still work to be done" on key elements of the scheme before it is presented for consideration by member states at their Assembly in late September. This article attempts to unpick the draft Assembly Resolution text, which aims to lay out the ground rules for what would be the first-ever global sectoral carbon scheme, resulting from the ICAO meeting. Read more ...
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Aviation industry encouraged by ICAO progress on global carbon scheme negotiations but calls for higher emissions coverage
Thu 19 May 2016 - Aviation industry representatives attending last week's High-level Meeting (HLM) on a global market-based measure (GMBM) at ICAO in Montreal say they were encouraged by the progress made during the talks. While difficult negotiations remained on a couple of key areas, said cross-industry Air Transport Action Group's (ATAG) Executive Director Michael Gill, the meeting had demonstrated ICAO was the right place for the discussions. Prior to the meeting, aviation leaders issued a communique at a one-day conference in Montreal that asked for ICAO states to support the implementation of a global carbon offsetting scheme to complement other technology and operational initiatives to reduce the industry's climate impact. The message was repeated yesterday at an international transport conference in Leipzig attended by 50 ministers of transport. Read more ...
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Key differences must be bridged quickly to avoid failure by countries to agree a global aviation carbon scheme, say NGOs
Wed 18 May 2016 - Following last week's High-level Meeting in Montreal of ICAO member states to consider proposals on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap net carbon emissions from international aviation, environmental NGOs say unresolved differences risk "a high profile failure". Six international organisations have come together to campaign that aviation makes a fair contribution to the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. Although some progress was made during the negotiations, they say the current draft text on a resolution to be put to the ICAO Assembly in September falls short even of what is needed to reach ICAO's own goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020. Read more ...
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Despite disagreements on key elements of global aviation CO2 scheme, ICAO chief confident of success
Sun 15 May 2016 - After three days of complex negotiations, ICAO member states are moving towards the likelihood of an agreement at ICAO's triennial Assembly starting in late September on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap net carbon emissions from international aviation. However, differences still remain on key aspects of the proposals contained in the draft Assembly resolution text that was discussed during the High-level Meeting (HLM) convened by ICAO and are unlikely to be resolved until during the Assembly. But ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu expects further ICAO initiatives and bilateral talks to continue over the summer and he remains highly optimistic the UN agency will pass an Assembly resolution to launch the proposed global carbon offsetting scheme. Read more ...
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ICAO states convene to reach consensus on a global measure to cap international aviation emissions
Wed 11 May 2016 - Officials from ICAO member states have gathered in Montreal for a three-day high-level meeting (HLM) to forge a consensus on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap net carbon emissions from international aviation. Under discussion is a draft resolution text proposed by the ICAO Council President to be put before the next ICAO Assembly in late September that would pave the way for the introduction of a Carbon Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation (COSIA) from 2020. Despite sharp differences between major nations on key elements of the scheme, largely based around the issue of differentiation, ICAO officials are quietly confident that a deal can be struck but is likely to be taken to the wire at the Assembly. Read more ...
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ICAO CO2 emissions standard was a factor in the decision to favour the all-new Bombardier C Series, says Delta
Wed 4 May 2016 - Last week's announcement that a major US airline, Delta, had ordered C Series aircraft from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier was a shot in the arm for the troubled and much-delayed all-new aircraft programme. The deal was also a boost for the aircraft CO2 emissions standard proposed by ICAO's environmental technical committee in February, which has come in for criticism from certain quarters for being unambitious. Delta's SVP for supply chain maintenance and fleet strategy, Greg May, said the decision to purchase 75 short- to mid-range CS100 aircraft with options for an additional 50 had been partly influenced by the introduction of the new standard. Bombardier claims the C Series, which is powered by Pratt & Whitney's PurePower PW1500G engine will deliver a 20 per cent savings in fuel and CO2 emissions compared to existing in-production rivals and will be the quietest commercial jet aircraft in its class. Read more ...
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WestJet teams with clean energy centre to develop a sustainable aviation fuel supply chain in Western Canada
Fri 29 Apr 2016 - Canadian carrier WestJet is to team with the new Clean Energy Technology Centre (CETC) in the town of Drayton Valley in central Alberta to accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable aviation biofuels in Western Canada. The area is said to be abundant with agricultural and forestry wastes as sustainable sources for the making of aviation biofuel. The fast-growing Calgary, Alberta-based airline says the location can help solve many of the challenges in finding an efficient and economical way of getting fuel from production to aircraft. In the final stages of completion, the CETC is situated in an integrated bio-industrial park called the Bio-Mile, which was established by the town to attract businesses from the emerging bio-economy. Read more ...
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Europe must be prepared to be flexible in ICAO GMBM negotiations, EU Transport Commissioner Bulc tells MEPs
Thu 28 Apr 2016 - Appearing before the European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI), EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc told MEPs there were still significant challenges in reaching an agreement at ICAO on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap net carbon emissions from international aviation but she was confident a deal could be struck. However, it would require compromises and flexibility from all ICAO states, especially on issues such as differentiation, said Bulc, but "warmly welcomed" the proposals currently tabled. The EU would be pushing for strict rules on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and the use of high-quality carbon offsets in the scheme that guaranteed genuine emission reductions, she added. MEPs were generally supportive of the Commission's negotiating efforts but some expressed concern over a lack of the scheme’s climate ambition and insisted the Aviation EU ETS be retained in some form after the proposed scheme starts in 2020. Read more ...
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US environment groups put legal pressure on EPA to act on aircraft emissions rule setting
Wed 20 Apr 2016 - As President Obama gathers with other world leaders on Friday (Apr 22) to sign the climate agreement reached in Paris last December, US environmental groups have criticised the Administration for "foot dragging" over efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the US domestic aircraft fleet and have started a lawsuit. Filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, the suit seeks to compel the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complete the rule-making process it started last year. After eight of years of legal action by the groups, in June 2015 the EPA issued a proposed public health endangerment finding and rule-making on aircraft engine CO2 emissions. The EPA has been working with the FAA on the international aircraft CO2 standard that was agreed by ICAO's environmental committee in February but has recently said it may not publish a proposed rule until 2017. Read more ...
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NGOs clash over eligibility of REDD+ forestry credits under ICAO's proposed aviation carbon offsetting scheme
Mon 18 Apr 2016 - The world's forests currently store more carbon than is in the world's atmosphere and tropical forests alone absorb almost a fifth of all carbon dioxide released each year from the burning of fossil fuels. However, the destruction of these same tropical forests contributes 10 to 15 per cent of global annual carbon emissions. To address the problem, the UNFCCC launched in 2008 a programme called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD, later enhanced to REDD+) in developing countries through which a financial value could be created on the value for the carbon stored in forests and then offered through offset credits as mitigation options. REDD+ credits are now under consideration by ICAO as to whether they should be eligible in the carbon offsetting scheme for international aviation currently under development. Environmental and conservation NGOs are divided though on their suitability. Read more ...
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Standards body ASTM approves Gevo’s alcohol-to-jet renewable jet fuel for commercial aviation use
Fri 15 Apr 2016 - Fuel standards body ASTM International has approved for commercial aviation use a new alternative aviation fuel created from an alcohol called isobutanol that in turn is derived from renewable feedstocks such as sugar, corn or forest wastes. ASTM has published a revision of its ASTM D7566 specification for aviation fuel containing synthesised hydrocarbons to include the new fuel, to be known as alcohol to jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK). The annex to the specification is initially limited to ATJ fuels produced from isobutanol and in blends restricted to a maximum level of 30 per cent. Currently, the only producer of isobutanol-derived ATJ-SPK is Colorado-based Gevo, which has been awaiting the ASTM decision in preparation for shipping its fuel to launch customer Alaska Airlines. ATJ-SPK becomes the fifth alternative aviation fuel pathway to be approved by ASTM. Read more ...
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Etihad Airways opts for Honeywell Aviaso fuel efficiency software to help reduce fuel use and emissions
Thu 14 Apr 2016 - Etihad Airways has selected Honeywell Aviaso to provide fuel efficiency software to help the airline uncover opportunities for fuel savings and measure the effectiveness of fuel efficiency initiatives already in place. Implementation of the software system has already begun and Etihad's partner airlines will also deploy the system during 2016. The software includes more than 100 ready-made analysis reports that allow an airline to understand fuel consumption and to identify potential savings. Honeywell Aviaso claims existing software users have made annual fuel savings and emissions reductions of more than 2 per cent. Etihad is the first major new customer for the Swiss-based airline IT company since it was acquired by Honeywell Aerospace last September. Read more ...
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China, India, Russia and South Africa express concern that GMBM proposals do not address differentiation
Thu 14 Apr 2016 - The 2016 round of ICAO's Global Aviation Dialogues (GLADs) to provide Member States with information and receive feedback on developing a global market-based measure (GMBM) to address carbon emissions from international aviation has concluded in Mexico City. Although the ICAO Secretariat has indicated the five regional events went well, there will be some disappointment that more non-Council States did not attend. Both ICAO and the industry, which has held its own regional outreach events, have targeted States that are not represented on ICAO's governing body to inform them of the GMBM scheme's proposals. In an unusual move, China, India, South Africa and the Russian Federation issued a joint statement during the GLADs to express their concern that the current proposal did not adequately reflect the differentiation between developed and developing countries, and questioned the scheme’s carbon-neutral goal. Read more ...
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Analysis by the EEA finds around 600 aircraft operators covered by the EU ETS emitted 55 Mt CO2 in 2014
Wed 13 Apr 2016 - The annual analysis by the European Environment Agency on the application of the EU Emissions Trading Directive reports total aviation emissions covered by the EU ETS in 2014 amounted to 54.9 Mt CO2. The total represents just over 3 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions covered by the EU scheme. Domestic emissions in 2014 of 11 Mt CO2 accounted for 20 per cent of total aviation emissions. In the period 2009-2013, domestic and international aviation emissions remained relatively stable at around 150 Mt CO2 per annum, which means just over one-third of aviation emissions reported in EU GHG inventories are included in the current scope of the EU ETS. The scope is currently restricted to intra-EEA flights until the end of this year. Following recent data released by the European Commission, carbon analysts are forecasting aviation emissions covered by the scheme rose by 3.6 per cent in 2015. Read more ...
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Abundant supply of high-quality carbon offsets available for ICAO GMBM but effective governance required
Fri 8 Apr 2016 - A policy brief prepared for the German environment ministry finds that despite uncertainty over the future of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) after 2020, there should be an abundant supply of high-quality carbon offsets to satisfy demand from the aviation industry under ICAO's proposed global market-based measure (GMBM). As such, there should be no concerns over high prices of emission units due to limited availability and no reasons why quality standards should be compromised. Environmental integrity is vital though to maintain the credibility of the scheme and eligible units should accordingly be restricted to those that met strict sustainability standards, warns the report by the Wuppertal Institute. It cautions that an effective and transparent governance structure, backed by political support, must be put in place under an ICAO agreement. Read more ...
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Canadian project gets underway to create a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain from local feedstocks
Thu 7 Apr 2016 - A three-year collaborative supply chain project is underway in Canada to introduce 400,000 litres of sustainable aviation biofuel sourced from local feedstocks into a shared fuel system at a yet to be determined Canadian airport. Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI) involves 14 stakeholder organisations made up of industry and academic research, and will develop an operational framework for supplying aviation biofuel into a multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel system. The project will source renewable feedstocks from Canada's abundant agriculture and forestry biomass using sustainable production and harvesting practices. The commercially available, certifiably sustainable oleochemical (plants and animal fats) feedstocks will then be converted into fuels using the ASTM-approved HEFA conversion process, says Air Canada. Read more ...
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Qatar Airways starts programme to meet second level of IATA's environmental management certification scheme
Thu 7 Apr 2016 - Having achieved the foundation level of IATA's Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification scheme, Qatar Airways has begun implementing additional environmental management system procedures to attain stage 2 certification. The programme will cover all aspects of the airline's global operations, including flight and ground operations, and corporate activities. By the end of 2017, it aims to have reached full industry certification of its approach to managing climate change, waste, water consumption and emissions. IATA Director General Tony Tyler said that while a number of airlines had implemented other comparable environmental management systems, IEnvA was the first system designed specifically for the aviation sector. Qatar Airways has also renewed its commitment to working with the industry's Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG) to develop sustainable biofuels. Read more ...
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KLM Cityhopper to operate 80 flights from Oslo to Amsterdam using ITAKA-sourced camelina biofuel
Wed 6 Apr 2016 - KLM's regional airline subsidiary KLM Cityhopper has started a series of around 80 commercial flights on its Oslo to Amsterdam route using biofuel provided by the European ITAKA consortium. Believed to be the first European regional airline to use aviation biofuels, the flights will be operated with an Embraer 190 aircraft. The aircraft manufacturer will be conducting measurements during the flights to gauge the efficiency of biofuel in comparison with conventional jet kerosene. The sustainable jet fuel is derived from RSB-certified camelina oil supplied by SkyNRG and Air BP, and produced by Finland's Neste. In January, Oslo Airport operator Avinor became the first to be able to supply biofuel directly from its hydrant system, although to accurately compare the efficiency of the biofuel with kerosene, the fuel for the Embraer flights will be supplied by fuel trucks. Read more ...
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China and US pledge to work together on achieving an ICAO aviation emissions deal
Wed 6 Apr 2016 - The Presidents of China and the United States have pledged to work together and with other countries to achieve a successful outcome on the global market-based measure (GMBM) currently being pursued at ICAO. The leaders, Barack Obama and Xi Jinping announced the two countries would sign the Paris Agreement at a specially convened United Nations ceremony in New York on April 22 - Earth Day - and urged other nations to join them, with a view to bringing the Agreement into force as early as possible. However, the two sides have up till now not seen eye to eye on how responsibilities should be apportioned under an ICAO GMBM scheme, which seeks to ensure carbon-neutral growth of international aviation emissions from 2020 through carbon offsetting. China believes airlines from developed countries should shoulder the burden based on the UNFCCC differentiated responsibilities climate principle, while the United States has previously rejected the application of the principle at ICAO. Read more ...
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NGOs set out their vision of how a global carbon scheme for aviation can align with Paris ambitions
Wed 30 Mar 2016 - The International Coalition on Sustainable Aviation (ICSA), an umbrella group of six NGOs, has launched a campaign called FlightPath 1.5 to ensure emissions from international aviation are capped and then reduced in line with the climate ambitions of the Paris Agreement. Despite being left out of the Agreement, ICSA says the aviation sector must play a full part in the Paris pledge to pursue efforts in keeping global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. It calls on ICAO to agree at its triennial Assembly this autumn a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap international aviation emissions at 2020 levels as an initial step, followed by regular reviews to ensure emissions are reduced over the long term. ICSA is also looking for stringency levels of the CO2 standard recently agreed by ICAO's environmental technical committee CAEP to be similarly tightened over time. Read more ...
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Aviation industry urges governments to get behind global carbon scheme as GLADs get underway in Cairo
Sun 20 Mar 2016 - As officials from around the world gather to study ICAO proposals for a global market-based measure (GMBM) for international aviation, the air transport industry urged governments to get behind a mandatory carbon offsetting scheme. ICAO is holding five regional workshops, called Global Aviation Dialogues (GLADs), over the next three weeks, starting in Cairo today. The GMBM is aimed at ensuring the growth of international aviation CO2 emissions is neutralised from 2020 (CNG2020) through the purchase of carbon offsets by the industry of emissions that cannot be mitigated through other means. Carbon-neutral growth is one of the goals agreed by the industry in 2009, which also include a 1.5 per cent annual overall improvement in a fuel efficiency to 2020 and a 50 per cent reduction in net emissions by 2050 based on 2005 levels. Read more ...
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ICAO releases draft resolution text on a global market measure to address international aviation emissions
Fri 18 Mar 2016 - Ahead of the second round of ICAO's Global Aviation Dialogues (GLADs), which start on Sunday (March 20) in Cairo, a draft resolution text has been released on a global market-based measure (GMBM) scheme to achieve carbon-neutral growth in international aviation carbon emissions from 2020 (CNG2020). Following a meeting of the ICAO Council last week, the text reflects changes made from an earlier version presented last December. The GLADs will be the first opportunity for ICAO States not on the Council to study the GMBM proposals and provide feedback. The main feature of the scheme, which has been named COSIA (Carbon Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation), is a phased-in implementation under which high income States or those States with an individual share of international aviation Revenue Tonne Kilometres (RTKs) above one per cent of the global total are included from the beginning in 2021, with upper middle income states or those with a share of RTKs above 0.5 per cent of the total joining in 2026. Read more ...
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Air transport industry signs Buckingham Palace Declaration in fight against illegal wildlife trafficking
Thu 17 Mar 2016 - Airlines and airports have joined other transport sectors in signing an international declaration in committing to take action to shut down the routes exploited by traffickers of the illegal wildlife trade moving their products. As members of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce, IATA and ACI leaders were invited along with 30 other signatories to Buckingham Palace to sign the declaration that takes steps to remove the vulnerabilities in transportation and customs through specific commitments to support the fight against the trade, which is valued between $5-20 billion a year. The air transport sector has pledged to raise awareness of the issue among passengers and train staff to recognise and report suspicious packages and behaviour. United for Wildlife is an initiative created by the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Read more ...
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Research facility to grow seafood and plants for sustainable aviation biofuels begins operations in UAE
Thu 17 Mar 2016 - The Abu Dhabi research facility backed by Etihad Airways, Boeing, GE Aviation, Safran and Honeywell UOP that aims to use desert lands irrigated by seawater to produce both seafood and sustainable jet biofuel has begun operations on a 2-hectare site in Masdar City. The companies, along with local oil refiners, have come together as the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) to fund the facility, which is operated by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The facility uses coastal seawater to raise fish and shrimp for food, whose nutrient-rich wastewater then fertilises salt-tolerant halophyte plants rich in oils that can then be harvested for aviation biofuel production. If the technology proves viable at this smaller scale, then further expansion will continue with the aim of scaling up to a 200-hectare demonstration site, says SBRC. Read more ...
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Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia go in search of opportunities for locally-produced aviation biofuels
Wed 16 Mar 2016 - Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have joined forces to investigate the options for developing locally-produced aviation biofuels and have issued a Request for Information (RFI) to potential interested parties. The trans-Tasman alliance partners say they are looking to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel supply in the region that delivers environmental, social and economic benefits. With a test flight in December 2008, Air New Zealand became the world's first airline to use a second-generation sustainable aviation biofuel. The two-hour Boeing 747 flight used a 50/50 blend of jatropha oil sourced from Africa and India in one of its four engines and the airline had ambitions for a major uptake of sustainable aviation fuels that did not materialise. Virgin Australia too has announced sustainable biofuel initiatives in the past, including a Western Australia venture involving biomass sourced from mallee trees. Read more ...
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United begins regular use of commercial-scale volumes of AltAir's renewable jet biofuel on flights from LAX
Wed 16 Mar 2016 - United Airlines has begun using sustainable aviation biofuels on regular commercial flights from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the first US airline to use commercial-scale volumes beyond demonstration flights and test programmes. The flights will use a blend of 30 per cent renewable jet fuel and 70 per cent conventional jet kerosene supplied by AltAir Paramount using Honeywell UOP's process technology, which converts non-edible animal fats and oils into renewable fuels. In a collaboration that goes back to 2009, United has agreed to purchase up to 15 million gallons of renewable fuel from AltAir over a three-year period. The ASTM-standard fuel is expected to provide a greater than 60 per cent reduction in lifecycle carbon emissions and AltAir is currently pursuing RSB sustainability certification. Last year, United announced a $30 million equity investment in municipal solid waste to jet fuel developer Fulcrum BioEnergy. Read more ...
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Concerns over aviation noise and emissions should not stop airport expansion around London, says ITC report
Fri 11 Mar 2016 - A report commissioned by UK think tank Independent Transport Commission (ITC) has found technological and operational improvements, coupled with market-based mechanisms, will mitigate future increases in noise, CO2 and NOx emissions, and overcome sustainability challenges. The analysis by consultants RDC Aviation suggests that over the coming decades a range of solutions will enable forecasts of future growth to be delivered "within acceptable environmental boundaries", even without step changes in technology. ITC concludes this justifies airport expansion at either Heathrow or Gatwick to provide extra capacity and enhanced air transport connectivity. Heathrow, unsurprisingly, welcomed the report while Gatwick said the UK government was right to look again at environmental concerns over air pollution. Campaign group Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) said the report had made implausible assumptions on technology developments. Read more ...
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European Commission launches consultation on market-based measures to reduce international aviation emissions
Wed 9 Mar 2016 - The European Commission has opened a consultation on international and EU policies to reduce international aviation emissions through the use of market-based measures, in particular focusing on the outcome of efforts at ICAO on a global measure and the implications for the Aviation EU ETS. A temporary EU derogation is in place that reduces the original scope of its emissions trading scheme to allow ICAO to negotiate a global market-based measure (GMBM) at its forthcoming Assembly in the autumn. The derogation ends on December 31 and the EU ETS reverts automatically to full scope coverage of emissions from all flights to and from European airports without the adoption of new legislation. The Commission is looking to put forward proposals soon after the Assembly finishes in October. Meanwhile, the Irish Department of Transport has just concluded a stakeholder consultation on the ICAO GMBM and its counterpart in the UK held a workshop on Monday to inform stakeholders of progress on the GMBM. Read more ...
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Study raps industry and media for hyping up new technologies that over-promise on sustainable aviation
Fri 4 Mar 2016 - Industry and the media have hyped up new technological solutions that promise emissions reductions and so lead to an era of sustainable air travel but have yet to turn out to be feasible, finds a study by researchers at the University of Surrey in the UK. This reliance on technology in cutting emissions propagates a culture of inaction by industry and policymakers, they argue, and although technology can cut harmful emissions, it must be viewed alongside stronger regulation. The researchers, in collaboration with NHTV Breda in the Netherlands and the University of Otago, New Zealand, explored how new technologies such as alternative fuels, solar flight and a range of aircraft design options are presented by industry and media, alongside the subsequent level of success in practically applying these technologies. Read more ...
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JetBlue commits to future regular use of aviation biofuels and joins sustainability standards body RSB
Fri 4 Mar 2016 - JetBlue has signalled its intention to use aviation biofuels in regular commercial operations in the future by joining the Roundtable on Sustainable Materials (RSB), becoming the first US airline to do so. The carrier believes biofuels are inevitable for the future of the aviation industry so it is now actively exploring the purchase of biofuel options for commercial use and plans "to develop a biofuel commitment" in 2017. JetBlue joins other aviation organisations that have backed the RSB standard to ensure biofuels are ethical, sustainable and credibly sourced. RSB members include Airbus, Boeing, IATA, SkyNRG and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, with South African Airways and Swiss as the only other airlines with direct membership. JetBlue has also announced it will partner with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help fight illegal wildlife trade in the Caribbean. Read more ...
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EU politicians still to be convinced by ICAO efforts on measures to limit international aviation emissions growth
Thu 3 Mar 2016 - European parliamentarians have given their support to international efforts at ICAO to find a global agreement on limiting the growth of aviation emissions but are concerned that the level of ambition may not be enough in a post-2020 climate change world. Four MEPs from different political alliances, including the leader of a controversial parliamentary delegation to ICAO last month, Ivo Belet, took part in a meeting held in the European Parliament last week to discuss the issue following the recent Paris Agreement. Along with the European Commission and EU member states, MEPs will be required later this year to review and decide the scope of the Aviation EU ETS from 2017 that is dependent on the outcome at ICAO's autumn Assembly on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to cap the growth of international aviation emissions. Meanwhile, the first meeting of a new high-level group to take the GMBM process forward took place last week at ICAO. Read more ...
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NASA starts initiative to design a greener, quieter supersonic passenger aircraft
Wed 2 Mar 2016 - NASA is attempting to revive the age of supersonic passenger travel with the award of a contract for the preliminary design of a 'low boom' flight demonstration aircraft as part of its New Aviation Horizons Initiative. Public resistance to the noise of Concorde as it passed through the speed of sound and its poor economics led to insufficient orders for the Anglo-French supersonic passenger aircraft, which first flew commercially in 1976 and was later retired in 2003. A Soviet-built competitor, the Tupolev Tu-144, failed to make more than 55 scheduled passenger flights in the 1970s following two crashes. However, NASA believes its mission to make passenger flight greener, safer and quieter can also be extended to include faster. The agency has awarded $20 million over 17 months to Lockheed Martin to complete preliminary design work for a Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. A future phase of the project will include validation of community response to the new supersonic design. Read more ...
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Boeing, Aeromexico and ASA set up new initiative to advance sustainable aviation biofuels in Mexico
Wed 2 Mar 2016 - An initiative has been launched by Boeing, Aeromexico and airport operator and jet fuel supplier Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) to advance research and development of sustainable aviation biofuels in Mexico. It will be supported by Mexico's Sector Fund for Energy Sustainability and will be coordinated through the Mexican Bioenergy Innovation Center. Other participants in the programme include the Potosinian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT), which will lead a broader aviation biofuel development effort involving 17 institutions. Research will be conducted on biomass sourcing, fuel production, sustainability and lifecycle assessment, and aviation biofuel market development. In 2011, Aeromexico was the first airline to conduct a transatlantic biofuel commercial flight, using a nationally sourced jatropha blend supplied by ASA. Read more ...
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Faster jet stream as a result of climate change could add 70,000 tonnes of CO2 annually to transatlantic flights
Thu 18 Feb 2016 - Last month a British Airways Boeing 777-200 achieved a ground speed close to that of sound on a flight from New York to London, arriving an hour and a half before schedule in a time of 5 hours 16 minutes. The aircraft's pilots were taking advantage of an unusually strong winter jet stream but such flying times across the Atlantic could become the norm as a result of climate change accelerating jet stream winds, particularly in the winter. However, a study by scientists at the UK's University of Reading found the effect of the jet stream on westbound transatlantic flights would mean longer journeys than currently normal and there would be a net increase in time, fuel and emissions on a round trip. The researchers calculated transatlantic aircraft would spend an extra 2,000 hours in the air every year when predicted concentration levels of CO2 are reached sometime this century. Read more ...
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Eyes of the world on airlines and ICAO to drive substantial progress on reducing emissions, says UN's Ban Ki-moon
Wed 17 Feb 2016 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised ICAO efforts in proposing a CO2 standard for aircraft and urged Member States to endorse it without delay. The eyes of the world were on the aviation sector to drive substantial, concrete progress on reducing emissions, he said in a speech to ICAO's governing Council in Montreal. He added he was confident that governments would agree at the ICAO Assembly in the autumn a market-based approach to neutralising the growth of aviation CO2. Council members are currently studying new draft proposals for a global market-based measure (GMBM) put forward by the ICAO Council President, Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, who is putting together a new High-level Group to oversee the process. Meanwhile, airline industry chief Willie Walsh told a conference this week the global scheme was "a once in a generation opportunity." Read more ...
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ICAO takes significant step on efficiency targets for aircraft with agreement on CO2 emissions standard
Mon 8 Feb 2016 - After six years of development, a new aircraft CO2 emissions standard has been agreed by ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), the first-ever to impose binding energy efficiency and CO2 reduction targets for the aviation sector. The environmental measure was, according to ICAO, unanimously recommended by the 170 international experts on CAEP and will now pass for adoption by ICAO's governing Council. The UN agency says that under the recommendation the standard would apply to both new aircraft type designs as of 2020 and new deliveries of current in-production aircraft types from 2023. A cut-off date of 2028 for production of aircraft that do not comply with the standard was also recommended. The standard is the first of two major decisions to be taken by the Organisation this year on ways to tackle the sector's growing carbon missions, with agreement on a global market-based measure the next challenge. Read more ...
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EasyJet designs new green aircraft taxiing system based on zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell technology
Mon 8 Feb 2016 - Low-cost carrier easyJet is to develop and trial an onboard hydrogen fuel system that would enable it to be used for zero-emissions aircraft taxiing operations. The hybrid plane concept utilises a hydrogen fuel cell stowed in the aircraft's hold and the system allows energy to be captured as the aircraft brakes on landing, which is then used to charge lightweight batteries when the aircraft is on the ground. The airline says ground taxiing is responsible for around 4 per cent of its total annual fuel consumption due to its high frequency, short sector length operations. Following ideas from Cranfield University students on what air travel may look like in the future, the concept has been designed by easyJet's engineering team, which will now work with industry partners and suppliers towards setting a trial to take place later this year. Read more ...
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After a decade of little growth, European aviation emissions expected to grow significantly by 2035
Fri 5 Feb 2016 - After a ten-year period of largely static growth in CO2 emissions from European aviation, forecasts suggest future technological and operational gains will not be enough to prevent a significant rise in emissions over the next 20 years as a result of an expected 45 per cent increase in the number of flights. According to the first European Aviation Environmental Report published by the European Commission, aviation CO2 emissions increased from 144 million tonnes (Mt) in 2005 to 151 Mt in 2014, a rise of just 5 per cent, as a result of technological and ATM improvements, fleet renewal and the 2008 economic downturn. Jet aircraft noise levels have generally reduced by about 4 decibels per decade but progress has recently slowed to about 2 decibels per decade. However, the report finds noise energy and emissions will grow slower than passenger kilometres out to 2035. Read more ...
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Fuel efficiency improvement by Emirates passenger fleet stalls due to airspace and runway closures
Wed 3 Feb 2016 - The overall fuel efficiency of Gulf carrier Emirates improved by a modest 1.0 per cent in the year to 31 March 2015, although the performance of its passenger operations showed no gain on the previous year despite the addition of new aircraft to the fleet and the retirement of older planes. At 75 months (6.25 years), the average age of the fleet remains as one of the youngest in the industry. According to the Emirates Group's latest environmental report just published, this was due to the impact of airspace closures caused by security concerns in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, which necessitated longer routings to avoid these areas, and an 80-day runway closure at its Dubai hub that meant aircraft having to carry more contingency fuel. With the addition of strong network growth, fuel consumption and carbon emissions were up 10.2 per cent on the previous year to around 9 million tonnes and 28 million tonnes respectively. Read more ...
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ICAO's CAEP meets to agree new aircraft international CO2 standard and decide stringency level
Fri 29 Jan 2016 - The 10th triennial session of ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP/10) gets underway on Monday (Feb 1) with a decision on an aircraft CO2 standard set to dominate the two-week meeting. The standard has been in development for around six years and has not been without controversy over its metric and level of stringency. However, CAEP's 22 members representing States worldwide - with input from 15 observers representing States, industry and NGOs - are expected to agree the standard during the session, which will then be passed for approval by ICAO's governing Council. The standard will have no effect on aircraft that are already in service and will likely be applied to new aircraft designs and for in-production aircraft that undergo major changes. Among issues that require decisions are the threshold weight of aircraft to which the standard should apply and the stringency levels, or options (SO), that should be applied. Read more ...
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Oslo becomes the first airport to supply sustainable jet fuel to airlines through existing supply system
Fri 22 Jan 2016 - Oslo Airport has become the first in the world to make available to all airlines refuelling at the airport sustainable jet biofuel through its existing fuel farm and hydrant dispenser system. In an initiative involving Avinor, the airport's operator, and Air BP, along with members of the EU-funded ITAKA project, sustainable jet fuel produced from camelina grown in Spain will be purchased initially by airlines Lufthansa Group, SAS and KLM. The fuel is being supplied by Air BP after processing of the camelina at Neste's Porvoo refinery in Finland, using its NEXBTL technology. The fuel will enter directly into Oslo's fuel hydrant system without having to rely on a segregated infrastructure, which the partners say is a breakthrough for the emerging aviation biofuels market. So far, Air BP has agreed to deliver 1.25 million litres to the airport. Read more ...
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COP21 President says growing emissions from aviation and shipping sectors must be tackled this year
Fri 22 Jan 2016 - The President of the COP21 negotiations in Paris, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, told the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday that in the year ahead it would be necessary to work with UNFCCC Member States on international greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and maritime transport. He said the two "very important" sectors had been left out of the Paris Agreement "for many reasons" but their emissions were growing and it was "a real problem". He reiterated the message during a debate in the European Parliament on the COP21 outcome in which German MEP Peter Liese, the Parliament's rapporteur on the Aviation EU ETS, said he hoped credible EU legislation would be put in place if ICAO failed to agree to reduce emissions. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has announced aviation would be included in its national emissions trading scheme due to start in 2017. Read more ...
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Virent says Rolls-Royce testing shows its renewable jet fuel cuts harmful particulates by over half
Thu 21 Jan 2016 - US-based Virent says testing of its blended jet biofuel product shows a greater than 50 per cent reduction in particulate matter emissions compared to conventional jet fuel, so providing both health and environmental benefits. Testing was carried out by Rolls-Royce and supported by the FAA under the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) programme. The emissions data and other successfully completed test results have been summarised and published in a report by Rolls-Royce, British Airways and the FAA. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has ordered 1,000 gallons of alternative alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel from Gevo for use in commercial flights sometime this year and Japan Airlines is to build a demo facility near Tokyo to produce jet biofuels from waste. Read more ...
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Etihad and Masdar develop new energy efficient cool cargo system as aviation biofuel facility nears completion
Thu 21 Jan 2016 - In collaboration with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Etihad Cargo, the cargo division of Etihad Airways, has launched a new design for a smart, temperature-controlled, sustainable and energy-efficient air cargo container 'cool dolly' system. Most airports and ground handlers use diesel-powered dollies with energy-intensive and expensive-to-operate cooling units to transport temperature-sensitive cargo such as pharmaceuticals, livestock and perishable products between the aircraft and cargo warehouse storage compartments. Etihad and its Abu Dhabi International Airport believe the cool dollies will provide them with a competitive advantage. Masdar and Etihad are also collaborating on developing an aquaculture-based aviation biofuel project and a new two-hectare research farm in Masdar City is due to be completed in March. Read more ...
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Government must do more to protect the public from aircraft noise health impacts, says AEF report
Wed 20 Jan 2016 - UK government policy is lagging behind growing evidence that aircraft noise is a pervasive public health problem and it should draw up long-term noise targets and review all noise policies, recommends a report by campaign group Aviation Environment Federation (AEF). The report identifies the health risks potentially impacting over one million people in the UK alone who live in areas where aircraft noise over a 24-hour period is above recommended health levels. Aircraft noise is associated with increased risk of heart and circulatory problems including increased blood pressure and higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Health is also detrimentally affected by sleep disturbance and annoyance, and can affect the memory and learning ability of school children, says AEF. With key aviation policy decisions due in 2016 on runway expansion, flightpath change principles and night flight regulations, it says the government must update noise policies accordingly. Read more ...
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Reports from IMF and French economists call for climate taxes on international aviation fuel or air travel
Fri 15 Jan 2016 - Two reports, one an International Monetary Fund (IMF) internal discussion note and the other by the Paris School of Economics (PSE), suggest taxing international aviation fuel or air travel could provide an equitable solution to raising global finance for climate mitigation and adaptation. The IMF says there is an immediate need for governments to follow up the Paris Agreement reached last month with fiscal policies that put carbon pricing "front and centre" in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Substantial amounts - upwards of $25 billion - could be raised from charges on international aviation and maritime fuels, says its discussion note. The PSE paper by Lucas Chancel and best-selling author Thomas Piketty estimates a €180 ($200) levy on business class tickets and €20 ($22) on economy class would raise around €150 billion ($165bn) a year for climate adaptation. However, an effort to include a call for a levy on the aviation and shipping sectors was rejected by countries in the lead-up to the Paris climate negotiations. Read more ...
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Aircraft operators rack up over $1 million in UK penalties for non-compliance with EU ETS
Thu 14 Jan 2016 - Following the civil penalties handed out to five aircraft operators last June, a further 18 operators of corporate or VIP aircraft and two airlines have been issued with penalties for failing to surrender sufficient EU ETS allowances in time to cover their intra-EEA flights in 2012. Among the latest to be fined are 21st Century Fox America, formerly known as News America Inc, the Bahrain royal family, and entrepreneur and US presidential candidate Donald Trump. The largest fine, £157,596 ($228,000) has been levied on British construction equipment manufacturer JCB in respect of flight emissions totalling 1,931 tonnes of its Gulfstream G650 aircraft. With the exception of Air India, whose fine from last year remains unpaid, most of the operators listed have now come into compliance. Read more ...
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Heathrow sets out progress on action plans to reduce noise, emissions and traffic as it pledges to "go electric"
Wed 13 Jan 2016 - With air quality around Heathrow a major stumbling block to expansion, the airport has signalled its ambition to "turn Heathrow electric" and shift more vehicles used on and around the airport to electric power. It has given the go-ahead to install 135 more chargers for over 260 electric vehicles at a cost of £2 million ($2.9m), as well as roll out initiatives to encourage greater use of public transport for passengers and airport staff. In efforts to "make an expanded Heathrow the most environmentally responsible hub airport in the world", CEO John Holland-Kaye has outlined a progress report on plans and commitments "that will make us a better neighbour, by reducing noise, emissions and traffic." Heathrow says penalties on older aircraft will see it becoming the first large European airport to be free of the noisiest Chapter 3 aircraft. Read more ...
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End of an ERA: NASA completes six-year research programme to reduce aviation's environmental impact
Thu 7 Jan 2016 - NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project to research and develop green-related technologies that could reduce aircraft emissions and noise has come to a close. Over the course of the six-year project, NASA had invested more than $400 million, with a further $250 million in-kind resources contributed by industry partners. The new technologies developed and refined by NASA's aeronautics researchers could help US airlines realise over $250 billion dollars in savings in the near future, claims the agency. Goals for the project included reducing aircraft drag by 8 per cent, aircraft weight by 10 per cent, and cutting specific engine fuel consumption by 15 per cent, engine NOx emissions by 75 per cent and aircraft noise to nearly one-eighth of today's standards by 2025. Read more ...
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Ambitions to supply all Sea-Tac flights with biofuel progress as airport launches study with Boeing and Alaska
Tue 5 Jan 2016 - The Port of Seattle, the governing authority of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), is partnering with Boeing and Alaska Airlines on a $250,000 feasibility study that will assess costs and infrastructure necessary to deliver aviation biofuel blends to airlines serving the airport. Under long-term roadmap plans, the ambition is for all flights departing Sea-Tac, which currently handles more than 380,000 flights annually, to be powered by sustainable aviation biofuel. The Port has a goal of reducing aircraft-related carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2037. A key strategy to achieving this is through such fuels and it has been involved in a number of regional research initiatives and the development of a market-support role. Alaska's interest in the use of sustainable fuels goes back five years and was the first US airline to fly multiple flights using a blended biofuel. Read more ...
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