IATA URGES GOVTS HELP ACHIEVE 6 PCT BIOFUEL USAGE BY 2020

By Umi Hani Sharani

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Biofuel developers should get governments to provide fiscal incentives among other things in efforts to help the aviation industry accelerate its endeavour to reduce carbon remissions.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) director-general,
Giovanni Bisignani Saturday night said they expect the industry to have six
percent of biofuel in the system by 2020.

"Those pioneers of biofuels have not received any fiscal incentives from
governments. These governments have the responsibility to help develop biofuel
as this could also help close the gap between IATA's target and the states'
target of fuel efficiency," he told reporters via a teleconference from
Montreal.

At the just-concluded International Civil Aviation organisation (ICAO) High
Level Meeting on International Aviation and Climate Change in the Canadian city,
(HLM-ENV), the states declared to work together to achieve anually two
percent fuel efficiency up to 2020, as opposed to IATA's improvement target of
1.5 per cent.

"When we are just testing (the feasibility of biofuel), everyone wants to
wait for the results. But the moment it gets certified, everyone wants to be be
on board," he said.

In the same tele-conference, IATA's director of environment, Paul Steele
added that the challenge now was to ramp-up enough quantity in order to achieve
the six percent target, especially with the lack of support from both the
governments and also oil firms.

"We hope to advance that number as we get closer to 2020,," he said, adding
that the use of biofuel does not require adjustments to aircraft or engine.
-- BERNAMA