Airlines taxi forward with emissions proposals

A consortium of airlines has refined its proposal to cut down on aviation industry carbon emissions in advance of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen this December.

The Aviation Global Deal group, which was formed in February this year by airlines eager to set out aviation carbon emissions targets, wants a global sector agreement to regulate emissions from the airline sector, which was not included under the Kyoto accord.

It has created three scenarios for UN regulators to consider when assessing emissions targets.

A 'carbon-neutral growth' target accompanies a five per cent reduction scenario and a 20 per cent reduction alternative. The three scenarios use 2005 as a base year, and span the next 11 years.

All of the scenarios would require the airlines to trade in the carbon markets. A proportion of the sector's emission allowances would be auctioned to fund climate reduction initiatives in developing countries. The group says that up to $5bn (£3bn) could be generated.

The aviation targets would apply to international flights. This still leaves the problem of short-haul flights, which spokespeople from Virgin Atlantic have said are a particular problem because of the proportion of flight time spent in ascent and descent.

Company representatives have said that long-haul flights are less of a problem when it comes to carbon emissions.

None of the companies known for their short-haul flights, such as EasyJet or RyanAir, are members of the group. Neither are any US airlines. However, the group did expand this week with the introduction of the Virgin Blue Group, a collection of Australian airlines.