Tuesday's press announcement claims that airline executives worldwide are expected to cut their emissions by 8 percent this year in order to meet new economical demands for both passengers and cargo.
Not only will this cut costs for the airline companies but it's likely to make many an environmentalist happy, as planes have been blamed for contributing greatly to global warming. Planes burn fossil fuels such as oil, which is a much needed natural resource.
In recent years, airlines have attempted to stay afloat by charging heavily for cargo, and have been using this method, along with business class passengers and cargo to stay in business. Carriers in Asia and Europe, for example are making cuts due to the recent plummet in supply and demand for both travel and freight, and this could likely be hard to stomach for those used to reasonable and frequent flights.
But airports are determined to improve the system, not make it worse. Companies are looking to revamp "runway and taxiway designs, improving flight scheduling and reducing airfield congestion that causes wasteful fuel burning" according to Angela Gittens, who runs Airports Council International. (Laura MacInnis, Reuters) Over 100 European airports are also planning to change certain protocol such as "continuous descent approach" in order to cut carbon emissions.
6 percent of the forecast carbon cut will come from fewer planes being in the air, and a further 1.8 percent will reflect improvements in energy efficiency, according to the International Air Transport Association. (IATA)
Director-General Giovanni Bisignani reported that successful tests have been conducted using biofuels made from plants, increasing the possibility of powering flights by plants like algae and camelina, a "type of flax."(Reuters) Those who have tested such methods and succeeded include Virgin, Continental, Japan Airlines and Air New Zealand.
"Certification by 2010 or 2011 is a real possibility, and the potential benefits are enormous," Bisignani said at the aviation conference in Geneva. "A biofuel industry could be a big generator of employment and wealth for the developing world." These cutbacks are part of the new administration's larger plan to enforce carbon cuts in automobiles.
