Singapore Airlines chief slams rise in UK APD

Singapore Airlines chief executive Chew Choong Seng has dismissed carbon taxes as “simply revenue-raising ploys dressed up to be in aid of the environment” which disappeared into government treasury coffers.

Chew was speaking at the ‘Greener Skies’ conference in Hong Kong where he set out his alternative policy to what he called “hysterical calls for taxation and other measures to limit air transportation”.

He was particularly critical of UK Chancellor Gordon Brown’s doubling of Air Passenger Duty which he cited was an example of this “cynical and blatant form of taxation”.

He also described carbon offset schemes as “neat in theory” but in practice neither transparent nor effective with no guarantee that the intended projects are undertaken successfully because of the use of the voluntary market for trading which is largely unregulated.

He said it was “right and proper that the airline industry as a whole is not in denial about aviation’s impact on the environment” but acknowledged that in Asia generally, “airlines do not have the environment high up in their priorities”.

However “Asia has a meaningful and important role to play in
augmenting efforts to improve the environmental performance of our industry”

And he pointed out “countries in Asia-Pacific will be among the hardest hit by climate change and global warming, if current trends are left unchecked”.

He quoted the Stern Review of aviation’s share of global carbon emissions, that “relatively fast growth from a low base should not be an excuse to single out aviation for discriminatory or punitive treatment” and adding that “aviation is hardly the villain some want to make it out to be”.

The attribution of responsibility must also be seen fairly and in perspective against the economic and social benefits facilitated by air transport – the industry accounts for eight per cent of the world economy.

Chew cited a number of areas identified by IATA’s fuel-saving campaign where the airlines and regulators could save fuel and work together to reduce emissions by up to 15 million tonnes world wide, including:

-Shorter, more direct tracks for 350 air routes

-More efficient air traffic management systems – which could save 10 per cent of flying time and 70 million tonnes of C02 a year

-Reducing time on the ground with engines running

-New initiatives such as ‘glide descent’ – currently being trialled in New Zealand

-Best practice maintenance practices to reduce drag

Instead he called for a global emissions trading scheme with ICAO being the most logical forum to develop one with universal acceptance

He saw emissions trading as “the least worse option” provided that the bulk of the proceeds go to positive action on environment protection and to fund the development of renewable energy.

In contrast , Cathay Pacific has announced that it will develop a carbon offset scheme that will allow the airline to “neutralise” a percentage of its carbon emissions by investing in projects in the Pearl River Delta that will help improve the environment.

Under the proposed scheme, being developed as part of Cathay Pacific’s overall environment management strategy, the airline will establish a mechanism to offset emissions associated with Cathay Pacific staff travelling on official airline business and also provide passengers with the entirely voluntary option of joining the offset programme.