IATA TELLS GOVTS TO REDUCE AVIATION EMISSIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) has called on governments to deliver a global and sectoral
approach to reducing aviation emissions in Kyoto 2.

"Air transport is a global industry with a good track record and ambitious
targets for environmental performance. But to achieve them, we need governments
to take a global approach," said IATA's director general and chief executive
officer, Giovanni Bisignani in a statement to the World Business Summit of
Climate Change in Copenhagen Sunday.

Bisignani also called on governments to define a sectoral approach in Kyoto
2 with global accounting for avaition's emissions through the International
Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and open access for airlines to properly
regulated carbon markets.

He said such an approach would maintaina level playing field for all
airlines and replace overlapping national and regional schemes.

According to him, a global approach is already underpinned with three
ambitious industry targets namely a 25 percent improvement in fuel efficiency by
2020 compared to 2005.

Others, inlcuding to use 10 percent alternative fuels by 2017 and a 50
percent absolute reduction in emissions by 2050.

"We are already working to set an important fourth target: a date for
carbo-neutral growth beyond which our emissions will not grow evenas demand
increases," he said.

Bisignani said avaition's emissions will fall by eight percent this year,
with some six percnet of this is from the recession and two percent is directly
related to IATA's four-pillar strategy.

He said one of the most exciting recent developments is the progress being
made in sustainable next generation biofuels, where these have the potential to
reduce carbon footprint by up to 80 percent.

"Three years ago nobody thought biofuels could be applied to aviation. four
successful test flights in the last year prove that biofuels works. For the
first time aviation could have a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels," he
said.

Airlines did this work without government involvement but this could achieve
much more, much faster, with a fiscal and legal framework to accelerate research
and reward investment," he added.
-- BERNAMA