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While rocketing oil prices are already forcing plane manufacturers and airlines to produce and buy fuel-efficient aircraft, European politicians believe the industry can do far more to become less polluting.
"Aviation, yes it is part of the (emissions) problem. Of course it is," Tony Tyler, chief executive of Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, told a briefing on "Sustainable Aviation."
"But aviation should not be treated as a pariah on climate change issues," he said. Currently the commercial aviation industry claims to contribute only 2% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.
Aerospace chiefs gathered at the Farnborough airfield, outside London, joined Tyler in voicing strong opposition to the European Union's recent decision to cap airlines' CO2 emissions by 2012.
Airlines across the globe agreed deals to purchase new fuel-efficient passenger aircraft built by leading makers Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier at the show this week.
Memorandum supporting 'Green Wave'
Airbus, owned by European aerospace giant EADS, used one of the biggest events in the commercial aviation industry's calendar to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
The move was to support The Green Wave - a global educational programme for young people.
"We are keen to put resources and expertise into supporting people who are tackling the major causes of climate change," Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said in a statement.
Yet Enders was equally eager to see a re-working of a draft law that obliges all airlines operating in the 27-nation European Union, including foreign carriers, to rein in their greenhouse gas emissions in four years' time.
At an Airbus press conference to discuss environmental issues, Enders described as a "scandal" the European Parliament's decision last week to impose new taxes on the aviation industry at a time of record-high oil prices.
"In principle, emission schemes are certainly an interesting instrument," Enders said separately at the briefing on sustainable aviation.
EU lawmakers on July 8 voted overwhelmingly for airlines to participate in the bloc's emissions trading scheme, which is the European Union's main mechanism for fighting climate change.
Airlines must meet deadlines
According to the plans, airlines will have to meet pollution targets from 2012 either by reducing their emissions or by buying carbon dioxide credits from other industries with surpluses.
Additionally, airlines will have to buy 15% of their emissions allowances through auctions although they will receive the rest for free.
Like Enders, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh backs an emissions scheme for the aviation industry but is against the EU's proposal.
"I have serious reservations about some aspects of the scheme as it is now proposed ... Auctioning (CO2 allowances) brings no direct environmental benefit whatsoever," he said.
The EU claims that greenhouse gas emissions from international air transport are increasing faster than from any other sector in the European Union.
"This industry's environmental performance is a top priority for all of us - manufacturers and operators," Scott Carson, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told the Farnborough event.
Among the biggest deals for 'green' passenger planes announced at the show was Etihad's purchase of 100 Airbus and Boeing jets worth a total of $20.4bn.
Oil-rich enjoy price rise
Etihad is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, a nation enjoying the riches of soaring oil prices.
Oil-producing states are snapping up new aircraft thanks to extra revenues earned from the soaring price of crude, which struck historic peaks above $147 on July 11.
Reflecting the importance of the search for greener alternatives, Boeing claimed a world first in April in putting into the air a plane powered by a hydrogen-cell battery.
The company said that although hydrogen fuel cells could be used to power small planes it did not believe they could become the primary power source for large passenger aircraft.
Boeing is also looking into the possibility of using sustainable biofuels to power planes in the future.
Soaring fuel costs, coupled with the credit crunch, have caused the collapse of 25 carriers since the start of 2008. Giovanni Bisignani, director general of aviation industry association IATA, said at Farnborough that he expected more to fold before next year.
"Today airlines are in crisis ... Saving fuel not only reduces CO2 emission but it's a matter of survival," he told reporters.
- AFP
