Aviation - Proposed Cut backs on Emissions

Greg Owen

Attorney

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Aviation emissions are or should be a concern. The Australian transport minister, Mark Vaile, made a very important point when he recently spoke of the fact that if something as simple as airline departure times were managed more efficiently it would significantly reduce gas emissions.

Vaile pointed out that when airplanes are forced to hold at a low altitude there is four to five times as much fuel burned as a plane en route. The numbers really do give one something to think about. Vaile mentioned that in a recent flight, 10 minutes of flying time were saved by identifying a better route to travel.

At first blush, 10 minutes may not seem like much to rave about, but take a look at the numbers: Ten minutes of flying time burns 2.7 metric tons of fuel, and releases 8.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

According to an estimate by The International Air Transport Association, for every minute of flying time that is saved, fuel consumption is cut by an average of 62 liters, and carbon dioxide consumption is cut by 160kg. To encourage awareness of the emissions problem, the European Union has already announced that the way that they intend to tackle the problem is to include airlines in its carbon-trading scheme. According to the EU, airlines will be forced to pay if they exceed their current level of emissions.