Brussels, 09/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 8 February, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) announced a raft of recommendations made by its committee on aviation environmental protection (CAEP) to limit CO2 emissions by the aviation sector, to be applicable to all aircraft by 2028.
In summary, the agreement, concluding six years of negotiations (see EUROPE 11479), provides for differentiated levels of fuel consumption depending on the type of aircraft: new aircraft which will come on the market after 2020 will have to meet a stringency level of 8.5 (stringency levels are ranked 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest levels of performance in relation to existing technology), while improved versions of existing aircraft will have to achieve a slightly lower stringency level of 7 from 2013. A cut-off date of 2028 has been set for all in-production civil aircraft to comply with the stringency level 7.
The agreement will affect in particular long-haul aircraft weighing over 60 tonnes which “account for more than 90% of international aviation emissions”, ICAO says, adding that it is on precisely this category of aircraft that technological developments and the subsequent impact on CO2 emissions can be greatest.
The recommendations were supported by, inter alia, the European Union, the United States, Brazil, Canada and Japan but not by either Ukraine or Russia, a European source reveals, noting, however, that these latter two countries represent only a very small part of the international aviation sector.
The agreement was welcomed by the aviation industry, including by Boeing and Airbus and also by the European Commission and, in particular, by Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc who highlighted the “central role” played by the EU in brokering the deal, “as it did at the COP 21 in Paris”. This enthusiasm was not shared by some environmental NGOs, including Transport & Environment (T&E), an organisation which campaigns for cleaner transport.
According to Transport & Environment, the decision fell victim to commercial pressures and the result potentially is business as usual for the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, which is looking to derive maximum benefit from a model by reducing investment costs in developing new technologies as much as possible. For Bill Hemmings, aviation director at T&E, the date of 2028 was chosen to allow some constructors enough time to amortise their aircraft, for example, Airbus and its A380, which has been in service for only nine years and the performance of which does not meet stringency level 7.
More generally, T&E says that the improved models (Airbus Neo and Boeing Max) which are coming on the market will easily meet the standards set by ICAO. The agreement will, thus, allow two major manufacturers to continue to produce less fuel-efficient aircraft (A320, A330, Boeing 737 CEO) until 2028. “ICAO has never encouraged innovation. It has always followed on the coat tails of innovation”, Hemmings told EUROPE.
He believes change could come from the United States and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which could impose more stringent standards in line with the Clean Air Act. Such a move would force Boeing and also Airbus, as the European manufacturer has ambitions to break into the American market, to produce more efficient aircraft than provided for by ICAO.
ICAO will probably support the CAEP recommendations at its general assembly in September and formally adopt the agreement at its Council meeting at the start of next year. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)