Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•
National participation procedures - notably, the involvement of the public within
legal decisions - and international participation procedures - notably, access for
NGOs within international decision-making fora.
Environmental criteria
The most important aspects are seen as:
•
energy efficiency and climate change (global): CO
2
and nitrogen oxides (NO
x
)
emissions and other radiative-forcing substances;
•
noise (local): noise nuisances in the surroundings of airports;
•
air pollution (local): NO
x
, volatile organic compound (VOC) and particulate
matter (PM
10
) emissions in the surroundings of airports;
•
land use (local, regional): sealed surface area of airports.
Comment
The main issue to raise regarding INFRAS's approach is that it is not referenced to
critical environmental thresholds, as TERM suggests should be done (EEA, 1999,
p20). Whether or not aviation is performing reasonably in comparison with other
transport modes is not the most important issue (nor is it satisfactorily evidenced in
the INFRAS study in terms of environmental impact, since this requires comparison
via life-cycle analysis). Comparative assessment can inform decision-making in rela-
tion to existing transport modes. For example, it can help policy-makers decide whether
the environmental burden of aviation is unreasonably high in relative terms, partic-
ularly whether other transport modes should be preferred whenever possible. It is
insufficient, however, when one or more aviation-related environmental impacts are
considered to be already excessive - that is, when one or more absolute impacts need
curbing. This is the case for aircraft noise in the view of many of those who experi-
ence severe aircraft noise. Moreover, it is the case for greenhouse gases emitted by
the human economy as a whole (IPCC, 2001), including other transport modes
dependent upon fossil fuels.
When total economic impacts are excessive, it is necessary to know not only how
transport modes compare, but how best to reduce total impacts absolutely. Impor-
tant issues therefore include identification of which sectors should be given which
reduction targets. Since transportation is a means to an end and has significant green-
house gas emissions growth rates, it would not be unreasonable to attempt major emis-
sions reductions within the transport sector, and it would be difficult to justify the
excuse of aviation as a case deserving special exemption.
I
MPLICATIONS
FOR
DECISION
-
MAKING
The clash of differing views on economy and environment gives rise to policy and plan-
ning conflicts. This, in turn, raises the issue of how regulators should deal with the
conflicts inherent in broad conceptions of sustainability and between the actual val-
ues of individuals. While complete resolution of conflicts relating to sustainability
and aviation will rarely be possible, different procedural approaches to their manage-
ment will influence the value and nature of the outcome in any given case.
