Quick fixes could cut aviation's impact on climate change, says report

Aviation's role in climate change could be reduced easily by eliminating needless emissions and enabling consumers to make informed choices about how to travel, says a report published today by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in association with the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.

The report, which IIED commissioned from the Carbon Consultancy, will be launched at the travel sector's annual World Travel Market exhibition in London to mark World Responsible Tourism Day (14 November).

It says that all who benefit from aviation have a collective responsibility for reducing emissions, highlights avoidable greenhouse-gas emissions, and recommends ways to reduce the sector’s contribution to climate change quickly and easily.

Topping the list is a call for real and standardised reporting of airline emissions and eco-labelling of flights.

"The statistics surrounding aviation emissions are confusing for consumers because they are based upon a wide variety of source material," says the report's author Hugo Kimber of the Carbon Consultancy. "Even individual flight emissions calculations can vary by as much as 300% for the same flight depending on the methods used."

The report calls for standard fuel-use reporting by airlines to allow the creation of a flight-labelling scheme. This would help consumers to choose routes and airlines that emit less, and which in turn would encourage airlines to adopt more efficient technology and aircraft deployment.

The report adds that more than 20% of aviation capacity flies empty, that indirect flights can emit up to 29% more carbon dioxide than direct ones, and that the use of aircraft by individual airlines can make a big difference to emissions. But passengers are left in the dark about these figures and so can’t exercise consumer power to reduce emissions.

"The environmental impact of aviation is often considered in relation to global emissions, but consumers want to know what the impact of their flight choice will be using standard reporting guideline," says Kimber. "It is important to enable flight purchasing based upon efficiency but you can’t do that without labelling, and for that you need to know how much fuel each airline/aircraft uses in relation to passengers and cargo."

"Flying produces considerable global benefits, especially for developing countries but at an environmental cost which it must be assessed against by consumers and policymakers," adds Kimber.

"Our analysis shows that it should be possible for government, consumers and business to make some short-term impacts on emissions reduction via eco labelling, information delivery and to start reflecting the environmental cost in ticket prices."

One quick fix would be to reduce the baggage allowance. A 5-kilogram reduction in baggage allowance on the main short haul route from London to Spain would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 54,400 to 68,000 tonnes — the higher value equating to 2,950 flights from London to Malaga.

The report calls for emissions from aviation to be included in the European carbon-trading system with an interim efficiency-based eco-tax to reflect the cost of carbon. It urges European governments to adopt the proposed Single European Sky — a regional air traffic control system that would eliminate the annual 12 million tonnes of needless carbon dioxide emissions created by national systems.

It says airport expansion should only take place if demand for flying is still rising after passengers and airlines start to bear its environmental cost in line with recommendations already made to the UK government.

"Aviation brings benefits to governments, the public, business and the airlines themselves but nobody is covering the environmental costs," says Dilys Roe, the senior researcher at IIED who commissioned the study. She points out that air travel is extremely important to the economies of poor countries, both in terms of bringing tourist revenue and exporting fresh produce, so it is key that emission reduction policies do not harm the poor.

"Cutting emissions from aviation is everyone's responsibility and in everyone's interests — make it your responsibility too," says Harold Goodwin of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University. "This report show sensible ways to do this in a way that does not harm those who have contributed least to the problem and will suffer most from its impacts."

Link to full report (PDF 164KB)

IIED Briefing paper

 

To interview Hugo Kimber, please call:

From the UK: 0845 644 8411

From overseas: +44 1672515006

For more information, embargoed copies of the report or a 4-page briefing paper by Hugo Kimber, or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Mike Shanahan
Press Officer
International Institute for Environment and Development
Email: mike.shanahan@iied.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 7256
Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 2826
http://www.iied.org

NOTES TO EDITORS
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that aviation produces 1.6% of total world greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC forecast annual growth of world aviation at the rate of 5% per year to 2015, based upon an annual increase in fuel consumption of 3% per year, reflecting increased aviation fuel efficiency.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) support this projection in the near term with their 2008 world aviation growth forecast of 6% and estimate global aviation emissions at 2% of world emissions. Aircraft manufacturers estimates of future sales further support increased aviation projections.

Aviation supports a large global workforce, provides significant commercial benefits and is claimed to support up to 8% of world GDP. World tourism is a major beneficiary of aviation. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimates that world tourism revenues in 2006 were worth US$735 billion, accounting for 35% of world export services and over 70% in less developed countries. The WTO figures for international tourist arrivals in 2004 at 760 million need to be considered against an aviation emissions output of 594 million tons of CO2 from aviation in 2004, created by over 30 million flights, the majority carrying tourists. Air cargo is a significant economic benefit from aviation, especially for high value and/or perishable goods from developing world nations.

A problem that is peculiar to the EU is the lack of a single control of air traffic, which is still divided into national airspace under national controls. The effect of this is to increase the distance of flights and consequently emissions. Estimates for the value of these emissions are hard to calculate exactly against a backdrop of limited formal reporting, with 12 million tonnes of CO2 per year being IATA’s figure for the cost of current air traffic control operation. The Lufthansa airline estimates that this equates to 8-12% of intra-EU aviation emissions.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent, non-profit research institute. Set up in 1971 and based in London, IIED provides expertise and leadership in researching and achieving sustainable development (see: http://www.iied.org).

The International Centre for Responsible Tourism is a post-graduate training and research centre based at the Leeds Metropolitan University (see: http://www.icrtourism.org).

The Carbon Consultancy was founded to address the need for a dedicated carbon initiative within the travel industry. It is motivated by the need for travellers and travel industry alike to protect the destinations that they visit/work with and to understand the carbon impact of their travel (see: http://www.thecarbonconsultancy.co.uk).

For more information on the World Travel Market exhibition, see: http://www.wtmlondon.com/App/homepage.cfm?moduleid=4066&appname=100539

For more information on the World Travel Market’s first World Responsible Tourism Day, see: http://www.forimmediaterelease.net/pm/793.htm

The report also shows that when planes use their jet engines to taxi to and from a runway they are producing a significant portion of their overall flight emissions. In the case of an Airbus A320 flying 500 nautical miles, this equates to 9.1% of the total. Using tugs instead of jet engines to move planes would be a quick way to greatly reduce emissions.