Albertina Lavigne. Sustainable Development Initiatives in the Airline Industry. Universidad Nacional de San Martin Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Transcription

1 Albertina Lavigne Sustainable Development Initiatives in the Airline Industry Universidad Nacional de San Martin Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Student from the MA in Public Policy & Development Management GU)

2 AVIATION & The Environment: Globally, aviation produces around 700 million tonnes of CO2 per year, which represents appoximately 2% of the total man-made emmissions. This share is projected to grow. There is currently no legally binding agreement for the industry to commit to any reduction levels (Kyoto, and beyond )

3 Importance to Society

4 What airlines can do to tacke this problem Making Sure there is a Global Sectoral Policy Regime in place, with ambitious long-term CO2 reduction targets. Improving their carbon efficiency Promoting a voluntary offset scheme Developing the potential of low-carbon fuels Supporting Scientific research into the impact of aviation on climate change But there s currently no industry standard used to calculate air travel emissions Different airlines have different ways of calculating emissions. It s not easy to compare them directly. Details such as aircraft type, passenger configuration and cargo load allocations as well as inflight facilities and route structures can vary widely.

5 UK-based companies stand out as UK was a signing member of Kyoto protocol Examples from pioneer companies in the industry with an offsetting scheme: British Airways was the 1 st Airline to launch a voluntary CO2 offsetting Scheme in 2005, and re-launched it with improvements in January Then added the cabin differential in May (High-quality- UN-CDM Certified Credits) Qantas (Through Climate Friendly ) since in 2007 it ratified the Kyoto protocol Cathay Pacific* Voluntary Carbon Standard. Fly Greener Delta (Credits form the voluntary Market) Easy Jet Example amongst the low-cost carriers, as it s UK based. (buys the credits directly to CDM and re-sells them to customers) * Offset all their duty travel

6 World s first self-declared carbon neutral airline Bankrupted and closed operations Its name was SilverJet, and it was an all-business class airline, with its mail hub in London City airport. Did not have a voluntary offsetting scheme. Instead, it included the offsetting fee in the final price! Launched in 2007 and closed operations in June Would also offset all duty travel of their personnel. (Something commonly done by Petrol companies). LATIN AMERICA: The big gap No examples yet from Latin American-based air carriers with offsetting schemes. (Either low-cost or full-service) Cases: LAN, State-Owned enterprises like Aerolineas Argentinas, Pluna, Gol, Tam (Still not into the carbon credit market)

7

8

9

10 British Airways CO2 Offsetting Scheme: British Airways uses United Nations-approved Certified Emission Reduction credits (CERs) from renewable energy projects. There are currently 3 projects supported through the airline s carbon offset scheme: the Bayin aobao wind farm in Inner Mongolia, the Faxinal dos Guedes power plant in Brazil and the Xiaohe hydro-electric power plant in China s Gansu Province. The three projects combined are expected to offset in total over 160,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. For bookings made through the web page, ba.com (plans to enhance this tool, extending it to all bookings, for 2013) Cabin differential: customers travelling in premium cabins, who have more space on the aircraft, now pay more than was previously calculated, whilst those in economy class will pay less. Since the airline re-launched its carbon offset scheme back in January 2008, 330,000 passengers have opted to offset their carbon emissions, and have contributed over 1.6 million ($2.4m) to support the clean energy projects. These contributions support projects with genuine carbon savings and, in addition, real social and economic benefits to local communities The program got a UK Government Certification by the Quality Assurance Scheme of Carbon Offsetting. (First Airline to obtain it) in March 2009.

11 3 Projects being developed with UN Clean Development Mechanism: Bayin aobao wind Farm, outer Mongolia 120,000 Tonnes of CO2 per year Xiaohe Hydro Power Project, China (Run-of River) 37,000 Tonnes of CO2 per year Faxinal dos Guedes Hydro Power Project, Brazil (Run-of River) 6,000 Tonnes of CO2 per year

12 Scientific Improvements in Biofuels Great controversy! BUT: A Number of exciting developments in 2009 indicate that full-scale commercialisation of biofuels for aviation is now possible. There is evidence that of the role that sustainable, credible fuels can play in providing low-carbon, renewable substitutes for conventional kerosene. In December 2009, The UK climate change committee reported that up to 10% of aviation fuel could be supplied by sustainable alternative fuels by * Biofuels are therefore uniquely placed to provide a low-carbon solution for the sector, in the short to medium term. (The alternative fuels need to minimise the whole life-cycle impacts associated with fuel development). * Source: Meeting the UK aviation target - options for reducing emissions (2050 Committee on climate Change December 2009, Executive Summary).

13 Sustainable Development: Alliance with Solena Group to build Europe s first waste-to-liquid biojet-fuel plant

14 First Sustainable Bio-Jet-fuel plant, from waste materials In partnership with renewable fuels specialist Solena, building Europe s First waste to liquid fuel plant. Biojet plant that converts waste materials into sustainable alternative fuels. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2014, when it will convert 500,000 tonnes of waste per year into sustainable aviation kerosene. This fuel will save 145,000 tonnes of CO2 each year. The plant will also create sustainable road transport fuel as well as renewable energy and heat, giving further carbon emissions savings of up to 405,000 tonnes a year. In addition, by diverting waste away from landfill, the production of methane will be avoided (powerful greenhouse gas) Plant expected to be located in East London, providing up to 1,200 jobs and helping to regenerate that area of the city.

15 Carbon Efficiency A large proportion of carbon efficiency will be delivered through fleet modernisation. (Quieter, and more fuel-efficient= burn less fuel per pax) In 2009, BA s carbon efficiency was 106,1gCO2/pax km*, a significant improvement on the previous year. But different Airlines Measure it differently:

16 Forest Footprint

17 Responsible Procurement Achieved the goal of zero waste to landfill, and now assessing suppliers to reach a defined standard

18 Road to Copenhagen and Cancun Critical Global summit on climate change in Copenhagen in Dec 2009: Key opportunity to include Aviation in Post-Kyoto international framework It is vital that options are developed to enable the global airline industry to contribute its share to a reduction in GHGs BA have been supporting activity to develop policy options for a global, sectoral approach for the aviation sector Now working closely with IATA to gain broader industry support for these potential options

19 What s Next Aviation industry has still a long way to go until a uniform standard is set up to measure emissions reductions and agreed industry targets Uncertain prospects of reaching an international agreement which would commit the industry as a whole. Further identify opportunities to minimize aircraft noise & emissions through international collaboration with industry, governing bodies & academia Play a leading role in developing a global sectoral approach regulating international aviation emissions,