Eco-Aviation Channel

ATA: Emissions trading 'does not make sense' for US airlines

Eco-Aviation Today, March 10, 2009, p.5

Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May, commenting on the NationalJournal.com Expert Blog site, stated that "an emissions trading program simply does not make sense for US aviation. Such a program would siphon away the very funds that the airlines need to continue to invest in new aircraft and other advances that are central to our strong environmental record. Instead of working against our efforts through punitive economic regulation, Congress should work in support of them."

May said studies show that the "much-needed modernization of the nation's air traffic management system would save an additional 10%-15% in emissions currently caused by the inefficiencies and limitations of today's radar-based system. And yet Congress has not authorized full implementation of this important program."

He also said that "airlines have long been addressing the environmental challenge and are implementing measures to continue greenhouse gas efficiency gains on a going-forward basis." He pointed out that US carriers improved their fuel efficiency, and hence their greenhouse gas efficiency, by 110% between 1978 and 2007, saving more than 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2, roughly equivalent to taking 18.7 million cars off the road in each of those years.

"Moreover, our airlines have committed to an additional 30% fuel efficiency improvement between 2005 and 2025, which will bring an additional 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 savings, and we are driving efforts to implement more environmentally friendly jet fuels through our leading role in the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative," May concluded.

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