Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
be required to ban the development of a supersonic fleet beyond the limited number
of Concorde aircraft currently in service that cruise at higher altitudes than subsonic
aircraft and have a significantly bigger climate impact per passenger kilometre trav-
elled.
NO
x
emissions from aircraft are still under discussion for their ambiguous effects
on radiative forcing through ozone formation and a decrease in methane concentra-
tion (Penner et al 1999, pp6-7). Further technical reductions in NO
x
emissions may
help to reduce radiative forcing because the effect from ozone formation seems to be
more profound. ICAO engine-emission standards were first introduced in 1980 and
the latest standards adopted will be applicable to new engine designs after 2003 (ICAO,
1999). However, stricter standards for new engine designs, as well as minimum require-
ments for existing aircraft, may be introduced.
Environmental reporting is decisive for benchmarking the environmental per-
formance of airlines. Investors, tour operators, travellers and shippers who also want
to base their decisions upon environmental considerations need comparable data on
the emission characteristics of individual airlines. To date, environmental reporting
is only carried out on a voluntary basis by a rather limited number of airlines. Besides,
the data on fuel use and emissions is often generated using different methodologies
and is therefore inconsistent (Koehn and Pastowski, forthcoming). Introducing man-
datory environmental reporting under the umbrella of ICAO at the global level would
be a solution. Existing voluntary reporting would greatly benefit from adopting a
unified methodology for calculating and presenting the data on GHG emissions
that might be developed in an ICAO working group.
For historic and military reasons, air traffic management and control are often
restricted and fragmented to an extent that precludes efficient air traffic operation.
The technologies applied are partly outdated and incompatible and lag behind stan-
dards of modern aircraft. Regulations and internationally agreed guidelines that are
partly underway may foster more coherent regional systems of air traffic management
and control, as well as the application of latest technology. In addition to more effi-
cient air traffic operation, positive side effects from such efforts can be expected for
safety of air traffic operation.
C
ONCLUSION
The instruments listed above provide for a broad range of policy measures, many of
which can be regarded as being mutually reinforcing and complementary. However,
this also means that the economic instruments contain some redundancy, as is evident
in their identical patterns of effects. In particular, once a comprehensive emission-trading
regime is implemented, an emission charge might no longer be required. Even though
some of the instruments discussed may be implemented at the national level, it is obvi-
ous that policies that address the highly globalized sector need to be sufficiently
coordinated or harmonized. Further policy instruments that are inherently inter-
national in character have been developed in the context of the Framework Convention
on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and may be adapted to the civil aviation
industry. These instruments comprise international emissions trading, joint imple-
mentation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as project-oriented
