Airlines look to greener future
A group of airlines and aircraft manufacturer Boeing are to step up the development of sustainable new aviation fuels.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group is being supported by and getting advice from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Airlines supporting the sustainable fuels initiative include Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Cargolux, Continental Airlines, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic. Collectively, they account for more than 15% of commercial jet fuel use.
The group has pledged to consider only renewable fuel sources with minimal impact to the biosphere; fuels that require minimal land, water and energy to produce, and that don’t compete with food or fresh water resources. In addition, cultivation and harvest of plant stocks must provide socioeconomic value to the local communities.
Liz Barratt-Brown, NRDC senior attorney, said: “If done right, sustainable biofuels could lower the airlines’ carbon footprint at a time when all industries need to be moving away from fuels with high levels of global warming pollution, especially high carbon tar sands and liquid coal.”
Commercial aviation claims to be the first global transportation sector to voluntarily drive verifiable sustainability practices into its fuel supply chain.
The group’s charter is to enable the commercial use of renewable fuel sources that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while lessening aviation’s exposure to oil price volatility and dependence on fossil fuels.
All group members subscribe to a sustainability pledge stipulating that any sustainable biofuel must perform as well as, or better than, kerosene-based fuel, but with a smaller carbon lifecycle.
“Airlines that have introduced next generation sustainability programmes have already seen substantial cost savings while efficiently managing their carbon footprint,” said Gulf Air chief strategy officer Tero Taskila.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for leading airlines, supported by well-respected energy and environmental organizations, to help commercial aviation take control of its future fuel supply in terms of origin, sustainability and environmental impacts,” said Billy Glover, managing director, environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“The number one priority going forward is to complete thorough assessments of sustainable plant sources, harvesting and economic impacts, and processing technologies that can help achieve that goal.â€
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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