Khulu Phasiwe
20 November 2007
Johannesburg — IN A bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry, aircraft manufacturer Airbus and engine maker Rolls-Royce have joined forces with petroleum companies.
They will explore likely ben- efits of using synthetic jet fuels.
Airlines operating in SA's relatively uncrowded skies have not been under the same pressure as airlines in the UK and Europe over emission targets.
However, as global pressure mounts for all countries to contribute to cutbacks in emissions, carriers in SA will find themselves compelled to meet stricter environmental standards.
SA is Africa's largest emitter of harmful greenhouse gases, according to the World Resources Institute's last published estimate. It ranks as the 19th biggest emitter in absolute terms.
The two European companies have partnered with Shell, state-owned Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Fuel Company, Qatar Airways and Qatar Science and Technology Park to study the benefits of using gas-to-liquid synthetic jet fuels in aviation engines.
"The focus of the research will be on evaluating potential improvements in local air quality, fuel economy and overall reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions," the companies said in a joint statement.
"Specific studies will also look at operational benefits for airlines, such as enhanced payload-range, reduced fuel burn and increased engine durability."
The synthetic fuels would initially be mixed with standard paraffin to enable the group to model aircraft and engine performance to explore the potential of fully synthetic fuels.
If these efforts succeed, synthetic fuel could become commercially available by 2010.
Qatar Fuel Company's director of operations, Nasser Ibrahim Fakhroo, said the company was excited about the project.
"We believe we are witnessing the dawn of a new era for the world, led by Qatar, as the potential that gas-to-liquid has to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions is very significant."
Shell and Qatar Petroleum are building a gas-to-liquid complex in Qatar. The objective is to make Qatar "the gas-to-liquid" capital of the world, said Fakhroo. Aviation has come under sharp criticism lately from the European Union (EU) and environmentalists for greenhouse gas emissions. The airline industry accounts for more than 2% of emissions.
Although the industry has until now been exempted from meeting emissions targets set by the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has unilaterally decided to include the aviation sector in its emission trading scheme.
Companies covered by the scheme buy permits to pollute if they exceed their target, and sell the permits if they come in below the cap.
The EU said all airlines flying in or out of its member states' airports would be required to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions 10%. Heavy polluters would face hefty fuel taxes.
The clampdown did not include military planes and aircraft weighing less than 20000kg.
"Aviation emissions need to be brought under control, because they are rising very fast," the EU's environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, was quoted as saying recently.
"Since 1990, emissions have gone up about 90% and by 2020 they are going to be doubled if business continues as usual."
The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, based at Manchester University, said recently: "No one is underestimating the challenge of implementing policies to deal with climate change, but the failure of all governments to think about international aviation and shipping has led to a serious underestimation of the actions necessary."
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