Eco Watch – FAA Official Outlines Climate Change Study

As part of an effort to combat the "internationally unpopular path" the European Union is pursuing with its proposal to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme, the FAA is studying how the aviation industry can move toward a "carbon neutral future,” unveiling a five-point plan to combat aviation's contribution to climate change, a senior agency official said in Washington.
While, the FAA is only now announcing its plan, much of it relies on work already being done by private industry such as alternative fuels. It also relies heavily on the much-desired acceleration of NextGen, still caught into the Congressional budgetary cycle.
The first prong of FAA's plan is to improve the scientific understanding of the effect aviation has on climate change, said Daniel Elwell, FAA assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning and environment. He added that, beyond carbon dioxide, the science is unclear on the effect altitude and other gases and emissions may have on climate change, he said.
Perhaps the most important part of the plan, at least in the short term, is the acceleration of air traffic management reform and increasing the system's efficiency to reduce fuel burn, Elwell said. NextGen is critical to the FAA's plan, although such measures as reduced vertical separation and East Coast airspace reform are steps in the right direction, he said.
Third, FAA will work with scientists and aircraft manufacturers to "hasten the improvement" and development of environmentally friendly aircraft, Elwell said. The fourth measure is to step up research on alternative fuels. Elwell noted that FAA's research into coal-to-liquid technology is yielding results.
Fifth, Elwell said, FAA is considering market-based measures, such as emissions trading, tax incentives and carbon offsets. The U.S. has never been opposed to emissions trading, Elwell said, but it is opposed to a unilateral decision, such as the EU's. Instead, the FAA and the U.S. believe ICAO should mediate and administer any future emissions trading system, he added.
Yet, noting the remarkable gains in fuel efficiency the industry has made since 2000, Elwell said that the price of fuel is better at motivating airlines to become more efficient than any government policy.
Elwell next month will represent the U.S. at the Group on International Aviation and Climate Change, an ICAO-convened body to study the issue