Commitment on Climate Change
The global business aviation operating and manufacturing communities have announced an aggressive strategy to further mitigate the industry's green house gas (GHG) emissions. Developed jointly by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and its Member Associations, the programme is consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) proposal for global aviation sectoral management of targets and monitoring of emissions.
Business aviation has established an excellent record of consistently improving fuel efficiency, delivering 40 percent improvement over the past 40 years. Business aviation's worldwide carbon emissions are approximately 2% of all aviation and 0,04% of global man-made carbon emissions. Despite this excellent record, the business aviation community has pledged to do even more by committing to the following specific targets:
- Carbon-neutral growth by 2020;
- An improvement in fuel efficiency of an average of 2 percent per year from today until 2020; and,
- A reduction in total carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2050 relative to 2005
These aggressive targets are largely based on advancements in four areas: technology, infrastructure and operational improvements, alternative fuels, and market based measures.
For further information, we encourage you to download copies of the following:
Business Aviation's Statement on Climate Change
Business Aviation and Climate Change – One-page Summary
Press Release - Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change
Talking Point Environment (Restricted to our Members)
ETS-MRV
On 24 October 2009 the Council of the European Union adopted a Directive to include all flights by eligible aircraft arriving at and departing from EU airports, in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 onwards. ETS is therefore happening and cannot be ignored.
EBAA is continuing to work very actively with Member States, the European Commission and Eurocontrol to gain acceptance of a simplified MRV for small emitters based on the Eurocontrol Pagoda model which we have played an important role in developing. This would dramatically reduce the intolerably high administrative burden on small businesses were they to be required to use the full Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) procedures that have been proposed for the airlines, whilst satisfying the necessary accuracy requirements. In particular, we are stressing that:
- The European business aviation fleet is one of the youngest and therefore the most advanced and environmentally friendly in the world and wants to continue to play its full part in protecting the environment without the burden of undue bureaucracy.
- Business aviation has a relatively low level of emissions (business aircraft represent 7.8% of Eurocontrol traffic but less than 1% of aviation emissions and only 0.03-0.04 % of all EU emissions) and MRV procedures for this sector must be proportionate.
- The large majority of the estimated 1,500 business aviation operators in Europe have a small fleet (less than 5 aircraft) and are SMEs.
To download our ETS Flowchart and MRV Decision maker, please click here.
Auctioning
The ETS Directive establishes that:
- The cap will be set for 2012 at 97% of aviation emissions in 2004-5 and at 95% thereafter.
- Any free allocation of carbon credits will be based on 2010 revenue-tonne-kilometre
(TK) benchmarking completed by operators in 2010. - 3% of the allocation will be held back for new entrants, and 15% will be auctioned, leaving 79% to be allocated free to those that justify it by TK benchmarking.
Member States are in charge of distributing the 79% free carbon credits among the operators that have been attributed to them in accordance with the EC List of Operators. These distribution of free carbon credits in each Member State will be done in accordance with the revenue (paying passenger/cargo) tonne kilometer (TK). This parameter has been adopted in the framework EU Directive and it will not be modified in the coming years.
Unfortunately the TK distribution principle will translate in a very small number of free carbon credits for Business Aviation operators (around 10%) because of the average low passenger loads. The only way to get a free allocation of carbon credits will be through the submission of TK data from the 2010 TK recording exercise. This should be part of your MRV submission to your Member State. Earlier this year EBAA recommended to all its members to mention that Business Aviation operators will always assume that the aircraft is always full as operators don't sell seats and therefore have no control on the number of seats that will be occupied for each mission.
EBAA in conjunction with its members, national associations and IBAC continues to clearly express to the European Commission and national authorities that TK is not appropriate for Business Aviation operators. IBAC was successful in obtaining at ICAO level an official recognition that an alternative parameter will be established for Business Aviation operations.
For further information, please visit also our News and our Intelligence Reports.
Working Group for Environment
BBGA - British Business and General Aviation Association: Mr. Guy Lachlan
EBAA France: Mr. Olivier de l'Estoile
GBAA - German Business Aviation Association, e.V.: Mr. Bernd Gans
Flying Group: Mr. Bart Boury
NetJets Europe: Mr. Mark Wilson
EBAA Expert: Mr. David Carlisle
Contacts: Mr. Belarmino Gonçalves Paradela
