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EU tackles aircraft CO2 emissions
BBC
Airlines operating in the EU should pay for any increase in their carbon emissions above current levels, the European Commission has proposed. Commissioners called on the industry to make a “fair contribution” to the fight against climate change.
But environmentalists said the measures were too weak to make much difference.
The commissioners’ idea is to bring internal EU flights inside the bloc’s emissions trading scheme from 2011, with other flights following in 2012.
The aviation industry generally welcomed the plan.
…The plan would work by issuing airlines with emissions allowances, mostly free of charge, based on their average carbon use between 2004 and 2006.
An airline that cut its emissions would be able to sell its surplus permits, while one that increased emissions would have to buy extra permits from industry or from other airlines.
Environmentalists say Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas wanted tougher action against airlines’ emissions, but lost an internal battle following a huge lobbying campaign by industry.
BBC Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin says the airlines have escaped a plan to make them buy their allowances at auction.
“They have escaped with most of their privileged tax-free status intact. And perhaps most seriously, they don’t have to account for emissions of other greenhouse gases, probably three times more powerful than CO2, that happen not to be included in the trading scheme,” he says.
(20 Dec 2006)
Ministers know emissions trading is a red herring and won’t work
George Monbiot, The Guardian
Inter-industry carbon shuffling and optimistic figures mask the true extent of envionmental damage caused by flying
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I suppose I should be flattered. In a speech to fellow airline bosses a few days ago, Martin Broughton, the chief executive of British Airways, announced that the primary challenge for the industry is to “isolate the George Monbiots of this world”. That shouldn’t be difficult. For a terrifying spectre, I’m feeling pretty lonely. Almost everyone in politics appears to want to forget about aviation’s impact on the environment.
…Tomorrow the European Union will wave its wand and make the airlines’ carbon emissions magically disappear. It will incorporate them into the European emissions trading scheme. According to Douglas Alexander, this is “the most efficient and cost-effective way to ensure that the sector plays its part in tackling climate change”. The airlines can keep growing, he argues, as long as they buy carbon permits from other industries, who can cut their output more cheaply. All that counts is that the European economy as a whole is reducing its emissions – it doesn’t matter how they are distributed.
So how is this going to work if aviation accounts for 258% of all the greenhouse gases the target permits us to produce? Or even 91%? Again, there is sleight of hand involved. The other greenhouse gases don’t count – the trading scheme recognises only carbon. But even if we were to accept its restricted terms, why should aviation force the rest of the European economy to reduce its emissions much faster than the average? Is flying more important than heating and lighting?
(19 Dec 2006)
Aviation and Oil Depletion
Christopher Smith, The Oil Drum: Europe
This is a guest post by Christopher Smith who is a Captain with the airline BA Connect. The post is based on a presentation (pdf) made to the oil depletion conference held in London last month.
Aviation is one of the fastest growing industry sectors in the world, growing at 2.4 times the rate of world GDP. The industry consumes over 5 million barrels of oil per day worldwide, almost one tenth of all the oil used for transportation. In the UK, according to the Department for Transport, the UK aviation industry is growing at approximately 5% per year while its fuel consumption is growing at 3% per year.
[ending]
The Aviation Energy Trend
There is currently no alternative to the use of kerosene in aircraft engines. The hydrogen economy is still decades away and it will be decades after that before the majority of long haul transport aircraft are hydrogen powered. By that time there is likely to be serious supply problems with petroleum kerosene and fuel efficiency and fuel conservation strategies will continue to dominate airline fuel policy. These efficiency strategies are currently driven by high fuel costs but in the very near future these costs will be compounded by the cost of the fuel’s associated greenhouse gas emissions.
The switch from petroleum to synthetic kerosene will be driven by availability and price. The lower switching costs in other industries may help aviation avoid a kerosene supply crisis but is unlikely to mitigate the rising cost. The increasing cost of fuel and associated emissions may mean some of today’s flying will no longer be viable. A lot of short haul point to point flying could be pushed onto alternative transport systems that are better able to switch to cleaner fuels
Hydrogen powered aircraft in particular offer little hope until there is a world wide supply in a mature hydrogen economy. Global warming emissions will continue to be a problem whichever fuel is being used. Even ultra clean hydrogen has global warming issues and we can expect that aviation will eventually be called upon to account for all its climate change effects, not just carbon dioxide.
The cost of switching to non kerosene fuels is extremely high. The aviation industry is likely to accept very high fuel costs before any wholesale switch to an alternative.
Christopher Smith is a Captain with BA Connect flying the 50 seat Embraer-145. He has 11,000 hours as Pilot-in-Command of commercial aircraft and holds a Master of Science degree in Air Transport Management.
(19 Dec 2006)
Airlines Toss Enough Cans Each Year to Build Fleet of Airliners, NRDC Says
Kyeann Sayer, Treehugger
As if there weren’t enough reasons to feel guilty about flying, a newly released NRDC study highlights airline industry and air port wastefulness. Some nuggets:
Airlines in the U.S. throw away enough aluminum cans every year to build 58 new 747s.
The airline industry threw out 9,000 tons of plastic in 2004, and enough newspapers and magazines to bury a football field more than 230 feet deep.
Nationwide, U.S. airports generated 425,000 tons of waste in 2004 — a figure expected to increase nearly 45 percent by 2015.
Each passenger today leaves behind 1.3 pounds of trash. Seventy five percent of this waste is recyclable or compostable.
Not all of the news is gloomy, however. Airports like Seattle Sea-Tac and Oakland have shown that recycling and composting lead to major savings. Read the summary or download the full report. NRDC via GreenBiz
(18 Dec 2006)
