Unwieldy Global Agreements at Glacial Pace?

Airlines have been told to get on with the job of reducing carbon emissions and not wait for the bureaucratic circus that has developed around climate change to produce results. Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe warned that enormous resources had been invested in debating climate change but the most basic steps to reduce emissions were not being taken.

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer in The Australian  (9 October 2009):

AIRLINES have been told to get on with the job of reducing carbon emissions and not wait for the bureaucratic circus that has developed around climate change to produce results.

In a damming speech to a Hong Kong aviation conference, Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe warned that enormous resources had been invested in debating climate change but the most basic steps to reduce emissions were not being taken.

He said the policy discussions and hand-wringing over agreeing on emission reduction targets were interminable and distracting parties from the far more important focus of taking action.

“This is simply a travesty,” Mr Fyfe said.

“To my mind the UN climate change discussions amplify all that is wrong with global politics. Whether under the framework Convention on Climate change, ICAO or elsewhere, it’s the same procrastination: multiple conferences of many thousands; turgid presentations and inequitable, albeit politically acceptable backroom deals determining the shape of unwieldy global agreements at a glacial pace.”

Mr Fyfe’s comments come as the International Civil Aviation Organisation hosts high-level discussions this week on climate change and the International Air Transport Association and umbrella organisations representing airports and manufacturers issued a joint working paper calling for a global approach to managing aviation emissions.

The industry groups propose improving fuel efficiency by an average of 1.5 per cent annually to 2020, stabilising emissions from 2020 with carbon neutral growth, and halving net carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Mr Fyfe said he would be happy to see a price on carbon provided it was applied equitably across geographies, uniformly across industry sectors, and promoted improvement and investment in new green technologies rather than penalising all activity.

Air New Zealand is recognised as being on the cutting edge of airline moves to reduce emissions and Mr Fyfe has been vocal in promoting New Zealand as a green destination under the “100 per cent pure” campaign.

The airline has been investing in new, more environmentally friendly aircraft and making its existing planes more efficient through a combination of technology and improved operating procedures.

The Air NZ chief said the initiatives were paying off and, when combined with capacity reductions, had lowered the airline’s fuel burn by 10 per cent in the previous financial year. It had improved emissions each passenger kilometre by 10 per cent since 1995 and expected another 15 per cent gain over the next decade, a feat he challenged other airlines to match or better.

“In the aviation industry we have no excuse for inaction,” he said. “Emission reductions make sense irrespective of the science of climate change and irrespective of the cost of carbon.

“Whether you believe in the science or not, it’s an indisputable fact that the aviation industry is a polluter and has an adverse impact on the environment.”

Mr Fyfe also took aim at trans-Tasman competitor Emirates, saying the Dubai-based airline flew the equivalent of seven empty Airbus A320s a day between Australia and New Zealand in the four months to August.

He accused Emirates, which has been critical of hysteria over climate change and claims about aviation, of “environmental extremism”.

“I firmly believe that we all have a responsibility to minimise the emission intensity of aviation,” he said.

“This is a responsibility to act first to give effect to the improvements that are already available, then to support innovation to deliver further improvements.”

The Climate Group’s senior policy analyst Damian Ryan warned that aviation was seen by many as the industry that got away under Kyoto.

“As a result there is a real expectation that it needs to play its part in a new agreement,” he said. “If the industry wants a solution that works for it in the long-term it needs to put forward proposals that respond to many of the concerns raised by scientists, governments and the wide community. The risk otherwise is that solutions will be imposed on it from the top down.”

Mr Ryan said the IATA-led industry proposal was a step in the right direction but its mid-term fuel efficiency targets were simply business as usual and did not measure up to the cuts faced by other industries.

Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au