Time to stop the Greenwash

A future where green means more than mere cash is upon us. The industry needs to push politicians to help it reduce its carbon footprint. Liz Moscrop reports.

You won’t hear cries to get out of planes and on to trains round the Paris Air Show. Order books are bulging, companies are hiring and investors are watching their portfolios flourish.

There is, however, a green cloud on the horizon that could jeopardise this golden age – a cloud that the industry would do well to take seriously. This year has seen been a sharp and rapid rise in news stories about what we’re doing to our environment, with air transport a key target.  Two weeks ago at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany world leaders agreed to pursue "substantial" but unspecified cuts in greenhouse gases and vowed to reach a United Nations deal by 2009 on measures to fight global warming.

One hurdle to overcome is that aviation is said to account for barely two per cent of emissions in proportion to other transport providers. This has led to some companies taking a defensive stance, further tarnishing the sector’s image.  However, there are welcome signs of change. Recently the International Air Transport Association (IATA) set out a stringent series of targets towards an emissions-free industry by 2050.

Reduced noise

IATA pointed out that over the last forty years aviation has reduced noise by 75%, and improved fuel efficiency by 70%. New aircraft and engine technologies will make fleets 25% more-fuel efficient by 2020. CEO Giovanni Bisignani challenged the industry to build an emission-free aircraft in the next 50 years.

“Clean fuel is also critical,” he said, and called for 10% of fuel to be replaced by low-carbon alternatives over the next decade. He also proposed research into fuel-cell technology, solar-powered aircraft and fuel made from biomass. There is already R&D towards these goals. Virgin has teamed with Boeing and GE and pledged US$1 billion towards developing alternative fuels, one of which, developed from algae cultures, is set to power a Boeing 747-400 demonstrator in 2008.

However, the biggest hurdle the industry faces in developing greener strategies is political buy-in. The European Commission recently proposed to expand its current CO2 emissions trading scheme to cover aviation. Flights inside Europe will be included from 2011 and, controversially, all flights to and from Europe from 2012. The proposals have angered several non-European governments, who object to non-EU airlines being included in the scheme. Bisignani argued that climate change is a worldwide issue and invited the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to get involved. “The challenge is for ICAO and its 190 member States to deliver a global emissions trading scheme that is fair, effective and available for all governments to use on a voluntary basis,” he said.

Emissions trading schemes allow companies to buy and sell emission “credits” to meet their anti-pollutant targets. And jogging alongside the rise in concerns about the environment comes an inevitable rise of rogue carbon offset firms profiting from public fears. Using a provision of the Kyoto protocol called the “clean development mechanism”, countries and companies can say they are reducing their emissions by investing in carbon-friendly projects in poorer countries. One of the better-known methods is reforestation, which is supposed to absorb excess carbon caused by burning fossil fuels.

Environmental pressure groups have raised concerns about reforestation, saying it is an inexact science. Planting trees in one place might stifle tree growth elsewhere, for example by drying up a river nourishing a forest downstream.

Not all projects are ill thought-out, but it is time to cast a cool eye over the carbon offset trading industry and choose wisely. Some companies, like the UK’s Carbon Footprint have voluntarily opted to join a national standards scheme. Britain is set to announce such a programme early next year. Said MD Mike Buckley: “Companies should look for carbon offset trading schemes that offer third party audited standards, so that there is a level of traceability and they can ensure that the company really is backing green projects.”  Pricing is another area to look at. Typically selling carbon credits nets a 20% profit for the trader.

Mark Wilson sits on the International Business Aviation Council, which is setting up industry wide standards for business aviation so that operators know they are buying into reputable schemes. He said: “It is important to verify schemes. With trees we need to ensure that the land held by the farmer will not be changed in ten years time. We’d like to see properly regulated standards to protect operators.”

Inefficiency

Bisignani would like to see governments and air navigation service providers eliminate the 12% inefficiency in global air traffic management (ATM). “Cut air traffic inefficiency in half by 2012 and we immediately save 35 million tonnes of CO2. Three mega-projects could deliver real results: a Single Sky for Europe (SES), an efficient Pearl River Delta in China and a next generation air traffic system in the US,” he said. “But governments are dragging their feet. The SES could deliver a 12 million tonne reduction in CO2. But it has been a 15-year European circus of talks, talks, and more talks—with no results. This is inconsistent and irresponsible.”

Phillip Butterworth Hayes, spokesman for the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (Canso) agreed: “We can develop a performance based ATM system today. There is already a net enabled warfare system that gives a range of information sensors and networks, allowing aircraft to fly in the most fuel efficient way. Routes can be dynamically changed to pick up trade winds. For example an Emirates flight flying from Dubai to Sydney using dynamic tracks that allow the aircraft to pick up jetstreams would save eight tonnes of fuel, and over 24 tonnes of CO2.”

Says Canso’s secretary general Alexander ter Kuile: “There is no sense of urgency in European politics on the realisation of the SES.” Which is a shame since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that these measures can reduce fuel use by 8 to 18%.

Source: Flight Daily News