November 2005

Air transport and the environment: the continuing debate

The continuing debate about the need to reduce the future impact of aviation on the environment has produced a wealth of information which is being used to back-up the various arguments and positions adopted by different stakeholder groups. Over the past twelve months the AERADE team have been monitoring some of the most important information resources that have appeared and have been adding these to the AERADE database.

A selection of recent additions include:

Sustainable aviation
The 'Sustainable Aviation' strategy sets up mechanisms for monitoring and regular reporting of progress towards a range of specific objectives which include:

• improving fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions by 50 per cent per seat kilometre by 2020 compared with 2000 levels
• improving air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 per cent over the same period
• lowering the perceived external noise of new aircraft by 50 per cent by 2020 compared with their 2000 equivalents
• establishing a common system for the reporting of total CO2 emissions and fleet fuel efficiency by the end of 2005, and pressing for aviation's inclusion in the EU emissions trading scheme at the earliest possible date
• new airport plans for community-related noise limitations, including landing and take-off restrictions where necessary

The Web site provides access to the full strategy paper, plus a summary document.

Decarbonising the UK: Energy for a climate conscious future
The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change published Technical Report 33 in September. It's headline claim is that all UK householders, motorists and businesses will have to reduce their carbon dioxide pollution to zero if the growing aviation industry is to be incorporated into Government climate change targets for 2050, and that even if aviation's current growth is halved from today's level, the rest of the economy will require carbon dioxide cuts far beyond Government targets. It is the first study to combine carbon dioxide emissions from the UK's energy infrastructure, buildings and industry with those from air, sea and land transport. It is unique in incorporating the different perspectives of energy analysts, engineers, economists and social and environmental scientists into a wide understanding of how the UK Government can achieve its 60% carbon dioxide reduction.

Fly now, grieve later
Brendon Sewill produced this booklet on behalf of the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) in June 2005. It deals with climate change and the use of 'economic instruments', such as charges, taxes and subsidies which can affect the environmental impact of aviation. The booklet looks at technical, economic, social and political angles and considers the impediments to action.

Airport capacity: Facing the crunch in Europe
Published by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) this is a compilation of the proceedings of a conference held in Edinburgh on 28-29 April 2005. The individual presentations are grouped under three session headings: Provision of airport capacity - are industry and governments doing enough; Securing future capacity, airport expansion and environmental issues; and Economic challenges.

© Cranfield University