2015 Global Sustainable Aviation Summit

Experts from the aviation industry, governments and environmental groups met in Geneva for a series of meetings on sustainable aviation development. The headline event is the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit, was hosted by the industry-wide body, the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). Climate change, the recent UN Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable alternative aviation fuels, new technologies, dealing with aircraft noise and emerging environmental issues – including finding ways to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife – were all on the agenda.

From solar power installations at a hundred airports around the world, to tablet computers for pilots, brand new aircraft designs and flights on fuel made with waste gas from steel plants, a new report released at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit today shows the aviation industry has embarked on a systematic programme of energy efficiency to reduce its climate impact.

The report, Aviation Climate Solutions, was released by the Air Transport Action Group, a global coalition of aviation partners promoting the sector’s sustainable development. Executive Director, Michael Gill, said at the launch: “The case studies show the wide variety of climate action across the sector. Carbon emissions reduction projects by over 400 organisations in 65 countries are represented. But this is only a snapshot of the projects underway. The most impressive realisation is the sheer amount of collaboration between industry partners, helping to drive efficiency. Action is taking place in all parts of the world: not only at large organisations, but also through partners in emerging economies.

“Importantly,...

the report also shows how the industry is working to meet the goals it has set itself through the climate action framework announced at the same Summit in 2008. Through investing in new technology, making the operation of aircraft more efficient and developing better infrastructure, the sector is more than meeting its goal of a 1.5% improvement in fuel efficiency per year. The case studies in the Aviation Climate Solutions report point to just some of the projects making that a reality.”

In 2008, the aviation sector became the first to set global goals to proactively manage its climate change impact. The industry will stabilise its net CO2 emissions from 2020 through a concept called carbon-neutral growth, whereby traffic would continue to rise to meet the demands of society and the economy, but growth in emissions would be offset through a global market-based measure. The longer-term goal is to actually reduce net CO2 emissions from aviation to half of what they were in 2005, by 2050.

Key areas of climate action in the sector include: the development of alternative fuels; operational efficiencies such as using lighter equipment on board and taking-off, flying and landing in smarter ways; the development of new technology, both entirely new aircraft and components; and systematic changes in airspace and navigation.

Michael Gill said the report shows that not all projects are headline-grabbers: “Some actions are big: such as bringing a new aircraft to service; and some are smaller, but significant in their own way. This is a reflection of the aviation industry as a whole. We serve thousands of communities and over three billion passengers a year, but each journey tells its own unique story. It is also a reflection of what will be needed to tackle the climate challenge on a broader level. All parts of the economy and all parts of society have a role to play, with both small actions and large shifts in thinking.”

The points were raised in a speech by ICAO’s Council President, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, to the Air Transport Action Group’s Global Sustainable Aviation Summit which took place in Geneva, Switzerland.

“A positive outcome at the UNFCCC COP21 this December will be crucial to encouraging ICAO Member States to make further progress at ICAO’s 39th Assembly on reducing emissions from international aviation, including the agreement on a realistic and effective global Market-based Measure (GMBM) for international aviation,” stressed President Aliu.

The ICAO President also highlighted that action on ICAO’s emissions reduction goals requires adequate financial resources within the sector itself. To date ICAO and the air transport industry have been strongly united in their position against any proposals to use  international aviation as a potential source for the mobilization of general revenues to finance climate programmes in other sectors.

“Reliable air services are too fundamental to local and regional development priorities, and States must consistently be made aware of the negative impacts which aviation taxes and fees can have on their longer-term, broad-based and sustainable economic prosperity,” President Aliu commented. “Your active cooperation in conveying this message will be paramount leading to COP21.”

President Aliu also highlighted the importance of better communicating the substantial actions taken, and the progress being achieved by the sector in addressing aviation emissions.

Addressing the summit, Tony Tyler, DG & CEO of IATA focused on the importance of teamwork, innovation, and industry unity as the bedrock of the industry’s environmental achievements and the driver of future gains.

“Flying is a team effort. And that is equally true for reaching our sustainability goals. Innovation has been at the root of our technological and operational improvements. But above all it is the unity of the aviation industry, jointly setting our three climate-change targets, and the four-pillar strategy to reach them, which has enabled us to make significant progress,” said Tyler.

Tyler concluded with a personal vision on the importance of aviation to delivering a more sustainable world, urging delegates that “to save the earth, take to the air.”

“The aviation industry’s goals for CO2 emissions reduction are ambitious but achievable with the right government support,” noted Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. “For airports’ part, we are diligently working towards a more environmentally sustainable future for the industry. ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, which late last year went global and now has 128 airport participants worldwide, is perhaps the best example of our united commitment on this front. As well, ACI’s do-it-yourself airport carbon inventory tool, ACERT, is now available in version 3.0 and can be used across all accreditation levels with a focus on helping smaller airports join the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

“As a founding member of ATAG, ACI realizes that environmental stewardship is a top priority for the continued sustainable development of aviation,” Gittens continued. “We urge governments to work in parallel with the sector not only for the good of the industry, but also for the good of the planet.”

CANSO Director General, Jeff Poole, highlighted some of the many steps that the air traffic management (ATM) industry is taking to reduce emissions from aviation. He picked three ATM examples from the many ATM case studies in the newly launched ATAG publication “Aviation Climate Solutions”.

The case studies are: shortening routes in Europe through the Free Route Airspace initiative; saving fuel and emissions through flying at optimum altitude over the North Atlantic; and reducing delays through time-based separation of aircraft in the UK.

Poole concluded by making a plea to States to invest ATM infrastructure; implement the ICAO Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU); work better together to reduce airspace fragmentation; and free up military airspace.