Biofuels are on the way up, while carbon emissions are on the way down, a global airline industry spokesman said Tuesday at the annual Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva.
After a successful run of pilot programs from Continental, Virgin, Air New Zealand, and JAL, sustainable biofuels are on track to be approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for wide commercial use in planes by 2010 or 2011, Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the IATA, said in a speech given at the summit.
IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani
(Credit: IATA)The IATA includes more than 230 airlines that make up about 93 percent of the world's airline traffic.
"Biofuels may even hold the promise of improved fuel efficiency on top of the potential to reduce emissions by up to 80 percent over the lifecycle of the fuel," said Bisignani.
He also had a positive spin to share on the fact that airlines have had to reduce flights due to a decrease in cargo and passenger demand throughout this economic downturn. The IATA expects to see a 7.8 percent drop in aviation carbon emissions for 2009.
Six percent will be due to a decrease in the number of cargo and passenger flights, while 1.8 is related to technology, operations, and infrastructure improvements, according to IATA figures.
Bisignani said governments of the world should focus on "replacing the growing patchwork of green taxes, charges, and emissions trading proposals" aimed at airlines with a more comprehensive system that takes into account that aviation carbon emissions contribute about two percent of the world's annual manmade carbon emissions.
The funds sponsoring environmental projects, as well as the degree to which airlines are held responsible for carbon emissions, should both proportionately reflect the two percent figure, according to Bisignani.
"We have a responsibility to secure the future of the 32 million jobs and $3.5 trillion in economic activity dependent on aviation. We need global leadership that unites industry and governments with the common purpose of reducing emissions," he said.
The inedible nuts of the jatropha plant consist of 30 percent to 40 percent oil that can be converted into biofuel.
(Credit: Air New Zealand)Air New Zealand, along with Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Honeywell, retooled one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines on a Boeing 747-400 to run on an unusually fruity blend of half Jet A1 fuel and half jatropha oil, according to Air New Zealand.
Jatropha is a succulent plant commonly grown in the semi-arid areas of India that produces seeds containing an oil that can be harvested and processed into a biofuel.
Jatropha has been used in making biodiesel for cars and trucks, but this is one of the first known attempts to use it as a biofuel in a commercial-size airplane.
Air New Zealand is not, however, the first commercial airline to try flying on a mixture containing biofuels. Several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, have been testing out the sustainable idea of bio jet fuel mixed with jet fuel.
The jatropha bio jet fuel was supplied by Terasol Energy, which certified that the fuel supply met sustainability criteria.
The fuel stock in no way affected the environment or displaced other crops, David Morgan, chief pilot at Air New Zealand, explained in a video press release (below).
The two-hour test flight took off and landed from an Auckland, New Zealand, airport on Tuesday.
The test run was part of a program to research better sustainable air travel.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) lists jatropha as a promising next-generation bio-jet fuel for the airline industry because the hardy plant can be grown in poor quality soil needing little water.
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