Aviation’s New Flight Plan:

Innovation, adaptation, and consolidation


U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Washington, DC
Thursday, April 3, 2008

 

The Energy Challenge: Fuel Standards Regulations and the Environment

 

Greg Principato, President , Airports Council International – North America

 

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this panel to provide the airport perspective on the energy and environmental challenges facing the aviation industry.  The entire industry is under constant pressure to reduce our environmental impacts, all while in the face of growing demands for air travel and increasing fuel prices.  While my fellow panelists feel the brunt of rising fuel prices, airports are also affected.  The bottom line is that we need recognize that we all play a role in reducing the industry’s fuel and energy consumption and its environmental footprint.

 

As the major “public face” of aviation, airports are particularly sensitive to the concerns of our neighboring communities.  In order to meet the growing capacity needs of the industry, we need to be responsive to those concerns, particularly those in the environmental area.  Airports are taking very proactive, often innovative, steps to address all aspects of the environment:  noise, local air quality, climate change, water quality, and even waste management.  Our brochure titled “Going Green:  Minimizing Aviation’s Environmental Footprint at Airports” – highlights a number of the initiatives and programs our member airports have undertaken.  

 

While airports’ responsibility and control over aviation’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is quite small, we recognize that the entire industry is under pressure to account for and minimize its role in climate change and we need to work together as an industry to address the issue.  Airports are doing their part by taking steps not only to reduce those emissions sources within their control, but also to effectuate reductions from other sources such as aircraft and landside vehicles.  Airports are also beginning to see climate change as a local-level concern as cities and states take aggressive stances on the issue. 

 

Airports across the country are implementing programs and strategies to reduce their environmental impacts, most of the time without any government mandate.  As a few examples, we see airports installing more efficient lighting; providing power and preconditioned air at gates; converting to low emission vehicles; implementing programs to reduce landside vehicle trips such as consolidated shuttles and cell phone parking lots; and conducting inventories of their emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

It is also important to keep in mind that while climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are an emerging area of concern, noise has been and continues to be one of the primary issues the aviation industry must address if we want to meet growing capacity demands.  We are also seeing a heightened interest in local air quality, particular as questions arise regarding the health impacts associated with emissions from aviation activities.  So while we focus on minimizing fuel burn, we must also keep in mind the relationship and tradeoffs between greenhouse gas emissions, local air quality emissions, and noise. 

 

Moving forward, we need to work together as an industry to show our commitment to continuing to minimizing aviation’s environmental footprint.  While we have already made substantial strides, the issue of the environment (and climate change in particular) is not projected to go away anytime soon.  We cannot focus solely on the improvements we made in the past because they will not solve the problems of today or those projected for tomorrow.  To sustain this vital industry, we must show joint efforts to do more to address the energy and environmental challenges of the future.

 

Talking Points:

Energy conservation

  • Energy efficient lighting
  • More efficient HVAC systems
  • Purchasing/generating renewable energy
  • Recycling

Emissions

  • Power and air at gates
  • Alternative fuel infrastructure
  • Fuel hydrant systems
  • Converting to low emission ground vehicles
  • Consolidated shuttles
  • Cell phone lots discourage circling curbs / idling
  • Pay-on-foot parking, parking way-finding systems save staff costs and improve air quality
  • Employee trip reduction programs
  • Public transit access

Cooperation with Airlines and FAA required

  • Airfield design and operational procedures to reduce ground and aerial congestion and long taxis 
  • Efficient ground handling and terminal design to minimize dwell time at gates
  • Common solutions must be worked out with airlines and FAA to optimize noise/emission trade offs

Specific Government Actions

  • ACRP project to develop airport GHG emissions inventory methodology.
  • Continue funding Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)
  • Continue funding and expand eligibility for Voluntary Airport Low Emissions (VALE) Program
  • Allow EMS at all airports to be AIP eligible (not just at large and medium hub airports)

Support FAA reauthorization provisions

  • Departure queue management pilot program
  • Environmental mitigation pilot program
  • Grant eligibility for environmental review of flight procedures