By Levi Novey •
May 25, 2008
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Have you ever heard of LAN airlines? If you haven’t ever traveled to South or Central America, then probably not. Here though, LAN is one of the big boys.
They recently sent us a press release announcing that they were the first airline in Latin America to sign the IATA’s Green Aviation Partners agreement, which will commit the company to reducing carbon dioxide emissions through various methods. At first I thought, that’s good. That’s very good. Then I thought, “so just what is the Green Aviation Partners agreement? And who is the IATA? Am I buying into a greenwashing effort by LAN Airlines?”
By Pem Charnley •
February 3, 2008
As EcoWorldly continues its theme with transport news and views from across the globe, two items have come to my attention here in the UK.
Air Pollution
Aviation tax proposals have been outlined by the government. Under the new guidelines, due to come into effect in November this year, it will be the planes, not the passengers, that will be taxed.
New Government figures released showed that emissions from air travel are continuing to rise. Between 1990 and 2006, emissions from aviation fuel use more than doubled.
21 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions will be attributable to air traffic by 2050, and the Treasury report insisted the proposed tax system would, “introduce fairer duty, more in line with the environmental impact of flights, including the distance travelled”.
Not everyone has the same definition for the term ‘renewable-fuel’.
The United States Air Force is well on their way to becoming coal-powered. On Monday, the USAF carried out a transcontinental test flight using a 50-50 blend of standard jet fuel and coal-based ’synfuel’.
“The Air Force is taking a leadership role in testing and certifying the use of synthetic fuel in aircraft,” Secretary Wynne said. “We’re working very closely with our Army and Navy colleagues to ensure that this fuel is capable of operating in all of our aircraft. This is especially important because JP-8 military jet fuel is commonly used in the battlefield by the Army and Marines tactical vehicles and generators, as well as our respective aircraft.”
While synthetic fuel has the capacity to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it could also double CO2 emissions produced by military flight. At the time of this writing, synfuel is made via Fischer-Tropsch process from either coal or natural gas to produce a somewhat cleaner burning but extremely greenhouse-gas intensive product.
A booming airline industry might be great for the economy, but it’s wreaking increasing havoc with the environment. Aviation today spews out only 3 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, but the segment is expanding fast — faster, in fact, than any improvements in efficiency are likely to keep pace with. According to the Christian Science Monitor,
"Efficiency is only set to improve at 1 or 2 percent per year at best,
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