Airlines' long-term goal is zero emissions

Those jet contrails streaking across the sky could become a thing of the past if the world's airlines are able to reach a newly announced, and very lofty, goal: Slash jetliner greenhouse gas emissions until, 50 years from now, airlines generate no air pollution at all.

The aviation industry is taking heat from regulators and politicians for its contributions to global warming -- and this has created a sense of urgency. Climate change dominated last week's annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Vancouver, British Columbia, where talk of CO2, carbon footprints, emissions trading, alternative fuels and the threat of increased regulation and taxation was everywhere.

The trade association's director-general, Giovanni Bisignani, challenged airline executives and aircraft manufacturers to solve the carbon emissions problem once and for all.

"Air transport must become an industry that does not pollute," Bisignani said. "Zero emissions.

"We can see potential building blocks for a carbon-free future. Fuel cell technology is here. The first solar-powered aircraft is built and we can make fuel from biomass today."

Bisignani declaration may be less a practical plan than a statement aimed at motivating the industry and impressing the public.

Zero carbon emissions is considered utopian, but worth trying for -- even if no one is quite sure how to do it.

"It's going to require totally new technology to eliminate emissions," said Fred Roe, regional manager of BACK Aviation Solutions, a Connecticut aviation consultancy.

And some experts say zero emissions is a pipe dream no matter what the technology.

"There is no sense in aiming for zero emissions," said Michael Levine, a New York University professor and former airline executive. "But I believe we have to be responsible for our emissions and declare to the public we're going to make the best effort we can."

Bisignani admitted that going green won't be easy. But he insisted it can be done if governments fund alternative fuels research, manufacturers build cleaner-burning engines, airports improve tangled air traffic control systems and airlines push harder for clean technology.

Airlines produce 2 percent of the planet's carbon dioxide emissions, but the expansion of air travel will raise that figure to 3 percent by 2050, according to the United Nations.

The push comes at a sensitive time for the aviation industry, which slumped badly following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, and recessions in several nations. The world's airlines lost $45 billion from 2001 through 2006, according to the trade association, which predicts that recovering airlines will turn a slim profit of $5 billion this year.

Airlines have already attracted attention from environmentally minded politicians.

In the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Exchequer and prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown slapped an air passenger duty expected to generate 1 billion British pounds to offset the aviation industry's adverse impact on the environment.

Earlier this year, the 27-member European Union said it will require airlines from EU nations to join a carbon-trading scheme by 2011. Eventually, all airlines that fly to EU countries will have to participate to keep their landing rights.

Bisignani noted that 12 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions could be cut if the EU simply blended its member states' 27 air traffic control systems into one -- creating "a single European sky."

Some airlines are acting on their own to support green causes by encouraging passengers to buy voluntary carbon offset fees. The airlines don't keep the fees or include them in the price of fares, but pass the money on to selected organizations that promote sustainable development, plant trees and clean up water supplies.

British Airways introduced a carbon offset fee -- which varies according to a passenger's route and type of aircraft -- in 2005. In recent months, other airlines, including Scandinavian Air Systems, Air Canada, Delta and Australia's Virgin Blue -- have followed suit.

"It's definitely a great start," Roe said. He emphasized that keeping such programs voluntary would be essential now, "when the airline industry is fighting tooth and nail for every dollar it can get."

Airlines have reduced aircraft noise by 75 percent since 1977 and burn 70 percent less fuel per mile than in 1967. New aircraft generally are lighter and have more efficient engines.

But while airlines are trying to go green, they can't do it on their own, said Steve Ridgway, chief executive of the London carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways.

"We need a 'single sky,' with harmonized air traffic control systems," Ridgway said, adding that a unified system would enable airlines to lower emissions by flying more direct routes and following wind patterns.

Ridgway's boss, Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, has teamed with former Vice President Al Gore to offer a $25 million reward for creating a viable biofuel to replace conventional jet fuel.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/09/AIRLINES.TMP

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle