Brussels, 01/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - At the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA) urged governments to support research and technology in the sector, in order to give it the means to achieve its ambitious environmental objectives. “Aviation is a long life cycle industry, which needs to operate in a stable regulatory environment. … Any plan to reduce aviation CO2 emissions therefore needs to be based on a stable, long-term framework, implemented through a global approach,” said ICCAIA Chairman François Gayet in a press release published on Thursday 30 September. He pointed out that, through continuous technological innovation CO2 emissions from jet aircraft have been reduced by 70% in the last 40 years. This performance can be maintained and even improved “if our industry receives the adequate level of support for its efforts in research and technology,” he said. The aviation industry as a whole recently set itself ambitious environmental targets: in addition to a commitment to improve its average efficiency by 1.5% per year up to 2020, it intends to cap its net carbon emissions from 2020 onwards despite increasing air traffic, and, once technological innovation allows, to gradually reduce emissions levels, halving them by 2050, compared to 2005 levels. (A.By./transl.rt)