However, quite unintentionally, the reduction in the number of flights, recently decided by many airlines to adapt to fluctuations in passenger numbers, automatically leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. In a way, this is the 'visible' contribution of the aviation industry to the fight against global warming, even if it is made under duress. IATA, the international association of airlines, estimates that carbon emissions should fall by nearly 8 % this year. Of which 6 % is due to the drop in traffic.<\/p>\n
And yet, beyond the current crisis, airlines have understood that their future depends on protecting the environment. Admittedly, this is a fairly recent conversion - no more than ten years ago! And IATA readily admits that it was only belatedly that it became aware of this poor image. This is undoubtedly linked to a relative lack of communication about the efforts already made in the past by the aviation industry to combat pollution.<\/p>\n
But can we really imagine a world without air transport? Obviously, it's impossible... Especially when you consider that every year, aircraft carry more than two billion passengers and 40 % (by value) of the goods exported around the world. What's more, 80 % of CO2 emissions in air transport come from flights of more than 1,500 km. In other words, a distance for which there is virtually no alternative to air travel.<\/p>\n
Despite the controversy that never fails to arise when figures are published, most experts estimate that aviation contributes between 2 % and 3 % of the total CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Admittedly, this is still too much, but what about the car industry in particular? Sweden, for example, has estimated that road traffic accounts for 38 % of the country's greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions, and 40 % of its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, compared with 4.8 % and 2 % for air transport.<\/p>\n
Despite this, the aeroplane is the polluter of choice. No doubt because the car remains the sacred object of our civilisation, but also because air transport is one of the last bastions of activity that is truly dependent on oil. With no real large-scale alternative. At least for the next ten years. To prepare for the future, all the players in the industry, from aircraft and engine manufacturers to airlines and airports, have rallied round. Since last autumn, even NASA has been involved in an environmental protection research programme. At last year's Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva, the two frenemies, Airbus and Boeing, signed an agreement committing themselves to reducing the environmental impact of aviation. The entire sector is working towards the ambitious goal set in 2007 by Giovanni Bisignani, the fiery director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA): that of environmentally neutral air transport in the medium term, i.e. where emissions are fully offset. \"In the long term, our industry should be able to manufacture a completely carbon-neutral aircraft, i.e. over the next 50 years. By 2020, fuel consumption per aircraft should also be reduced by 25 %.\"<\/p>\n
Almost every aspect of the industry is being examined with a fine-tooth comb: from aircraft landing gear to weight reduction, from the search for new, more efficient fuels to the development of more economical aircraft thanks to improved aerodynamics. The results achieved are already remarkable, even if there is still a long way to go. According to IATA, the fuel efficiency of new-generation aircraft has improved by 70 % compared with aircraft of 40 years ago. According to a report by the United Nations Panel on Climate Change, this efficiency continues to improve every year, by an average of 1.3 %, thanks to the introduction of more efficient aircraft. In 40 years, CO2 emissions have fallen by 50 %, and hydrocarbon emissions by 90 %. Nitrogen oxide emissions have also been halved in 15 years.<\/p>\n
The new generations of aircraft offer a glimpse of the progress that has been made. On the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 767 Dreamliner, fuel consumption has fallen to less than three litres of fuel per passenger per 100 km, i.e. less than that of a small car. In fact, when the giant Airbus A380 was unveiled in June 2007, John Leahy, Director of Customer Operations, said that \"the introduction of the Airbus A380 is likely to save 65 million tonnes of paraffin a year\".<\/p>\n
Boeing executives in Seattle are proud of the new Dreamliner's performance: more than 50 % of its structure - including the fuselage and wings - was made from composite materials. This has made the aircraft considerably lighter, and therefore more fuel efficient. For Pat Shanahan, Vice President and General Manager of the B787 programme, composite materials are not the only element in the commercial success of the aircraft, for which more than 900 orders have already been booked. \"It's the whole concept of the aircraft that contributes to its performance, from innovative design to new technologies, and enables it to reduce fuel consumption by 20 %.\"<\/p>\n
While the new aircraft consume less fuel than their predecessors of twenty or thirty years ago, they are still a long way from the carbon neutrality objective set by IATA. \"We're not there yet technologically,\" admits a Boeing executive. In fact, it is over the next fifteen years that aviation experts expect to see the emergence of revolutionary new technologies in aircraft construction.<\/p>\n
Airbus has already announced its intention to bring out a new aircraft even more economical than the Airbus A380 or the future A350. In 2007, Airbus CEO Louis Gallois outlined his vision of the aircraft of the future at an official company certification ceremony. He pledged to increase the research budget by 25 %. This is to be achieved by 2008, so that by 2020, all Airbus aircraft put on the market will emit 50 % less CO2 and 80 % less NOx than in 2000.<\/p>\n
Individually, most airlines are committed to environmental initiatives. Four of them, in partnership with manufacturers, have already carried out flights using biofuels. Last January, Japan Airlines became the first carrier to fly with a blend created from camelina, a plant that produces flax. In the same month, Continental Airlines became the first North American airline to successfully carry out a biofuel test flight with the help of Boeing. Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand have also been conducting tests since last year. They should soon be followed by similar tests at British Airways and Qatar Airways.<\/p>\n
Bringing new aircraft into service is another way of contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases. \"The order for 30 Bombardier C110 short-haul aircraft will enable us to reduce our fuel consumption by 25 % compared with our current models. We estimate this reduction at 90,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, or the equivalent of 7,000 flights between Zurich and London\", says Harry Hohmeister, CEO of Swiss. Boeing, like Airbus, estimates that between 15,000 and 20,000 new aircraft will come onto the market between 2006 and 2026, of which 80 %s will replace less efficient aircraft.<\/p>\n
Finally, many airlines are working with NGOs to offset their activities through environmental projects. Air France, for example, has financed a project alongside the NGO GoodPlanet to combat deforestation in Madagascar: 500,000 hectares of forest have been protected or restored, enabling 60 to 70 million tonnes of carbon to be stored in the forests concerned.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it is often the infrastructures financed by the States that have not kept pace with the efforts made by the airlines. What's more, they complain about the inefficiency with which air routes are organised, which are not always rationally delimited, since they often have to take account of military airspace. Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General, regularly raises this issue. \"We could reduce our paraffin consumption by 18 %, i.e. 73 million tonnes of CO2 per year, if governments would remedy the congestion of infrastructures on the ground and in the air. Congestion in Europe's skies results in delays of 21 million minutes. That's 16 million tonnes of CO2 per year that would disappear with the introduction of the Single European Sky\", he asserts.<\/p>\n
According to the European Union, this chaos costs almost 4.5 billion euros a year. By 2013, there will be nine major air traffic control centres for the whole of Europe instead of the current thirty or so. The integration of new technologies, such as coordinated satellite guidance, will further reduce waiting times in European skies. Since 2007, some 350 air routes have already been rationalised and airport approach procedures optimised. As a result, 6 million tonnes of CO2 have not been released into the atmosphere. In reality, air transport has little choice but to reduce its consumption at all costs. Many experts believe that the current lull in oil prices is only temporary. They believe that once the recession is over, the world's energy needs will push prices up again.<\/p>\n
In Europe, airlines will also have to adapt to new, even more restrictive rules. The European Union has decided to officially introduce certificates for carbon emission quotas. Airlines flying to or within the EU will be allocated a tradable annual CO2 quota, based on size and activity. Once the authorised limit has been exceeded, these companies will have to acquire greenhouse gas emission permits (ETS), a kind of certificate offering a 'pollution credit' purchased on a carbon market that would include other industries. The purchase of these ETSs would logically be based on the law of supply and demand. The text, adopted by the European Union last year, is due to come into force in 2011 for intra-European routes, and in 2012 for all routes with links to the Union.<\/p>\n
Europe hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % by 2020. A good number of airlines, such as SAS and British Airways, support the initiative, judging it to be rather balanced in form. If it applies to all airlines and, eventually, to the rest of the world. Air France has also agreed to the principle of ETS, which it considers fairer than a taxation system. This does not prevent it from worrying about the introduction of more restrictive measures planned from 2013, given the worsening economic climate. Passengers will probably have to pay the price in the price of their ticket. But isn't it worth the risk?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"