Jobs and the environment

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As the climate change debate continues to rage, Ingo Marowsky explains the basis of the ITF’s environment policy for aviation

It is now widely accepted that the carbon emissions created by aircraft are contributing, as all industrial emissions are, to the phenomenon of global warming. Certain checks and balances are in place on these and other environmental challenges including aircraft noise. However, many airlines have begun to take responsibility into their own hands, and aspire to higher standards than those currently provided by the regulatory bodies.

The environment is an issue of increasing importance to the ITF’s 600,000 civil aviation members. They are concerned that their working environments are safe and healthy. They are also concerned about long term environmental sustainability in their local and broader communities.

"The ITF is therefore committed to encouraging a long term strategy to limit the impact of civil aviation on climate change"

The ITF should be in a position to monitor, and should seek to influence, environmental developments at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and other international organisations, in a positive manner. This is necessary in order to ensure that the present attacks on aviation as a major polluter can be ameliorated.

Safety and sustainability
The ITF’s civil aviation draft environmental policy framework

It is vital that the industry does not present a scenario of "jobs versus the environment" but rather one of "jobs and the environment". The ICAO states that it is conscious of its responsibility and that of its contracting states "to achieve maximum compatibility between the safe and orderly development of civil aviation and the quality of the environment" (Assembly Resolution A35-5).

Its activities in the environment field are primarily focused on those problems it considers benefit most from a common coordinated approach, on a worldwide basis – namely aircraft noise and the impact of aircraft engine emissions. The aviation industry is a major employer around the globe, providing transport services that are essential to global economies as well as to the social welfare provision of many countries with a developing transport infrastructure.

Carbon emissions trading

Airlines could be included in the EU’s carbon dioxide trading scheme from 2008 if European Commission recommendations are accepted.

The scheme is designed to put limits on the emissions of major EU industries, in order to help reduce global warming. Under the scheme, national governments allocate allowances to companies in line with their Kyoto agreement targets.

Industries that exceed the limits have to buy credits from companies whose emissions are below the limit. This could involve them, for example, in financing environmentally friendly development projects in other countries.

Aviation is currently thought to contribute around three per cent of EU carbon emissions. However some experts believe aviation has a particularly strong impact because the gases and water vapour caused by aircraft are deposited directly into the upper atmosphere.

The proposed inclusion of aviation in the trading scheme is supported by European airports and some major airlines, including British Airways, which has improved its global fuel efficiency by 27 per cent since 1990, and which is participating in the UK government’s own trial emissions trading scheme.

It is essential that the industry strikes a balance in terms of its rapid expansion and projected growth and its impact upon the environment.

Aviation is becoming increasingly prominent in the debate on carbon emissions and the environment. The industry itself predicts that greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft will double by 2030, even if airlines invest in new fuel-efficient aircraft. This will be largely as a result of the huge increase expected in air travel over the next 25 years.

Damage limitation

The ITF is therefore committed to encouraging a long term strategy to limit the impact of civil aviation on climate change. It will support aircraft manufacturers and suppliers who prioritise substantial improvements in fuel efficiency, and reductions in emissions and external noise by 2020.

We will also support the inclusion of aircraft carbon dioxide emissions in the EU Emission Trading Scheme, and will back calls for a similar scheme to operate on an international basis, so that major civil aviation countries outside the EU are also included.

We support those airlines who are engaging in joint efforts with local communities in the mitigation of noise levels. This means working towards operational restrictions where necessary, as well as for improvements in local air quality and the reduction of traffic congestion.

Ingo Marowsky is ITF aviation secretary.

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