Aviation Industry Vows To Cooperate For The Planet

With Earth Day celebrated around the world on Tuesday, executives from Boeing and Airbus joined together at the third Aviation & Environment Summit, in Geneva, to announce they will work together to create a more efficient air traffic system that will save energy. “I am convinced technology and innovation hold the key to reducing aviation’s environmental impact and increasing eco-efficiency,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders. Other aviation leaders at the event joined in signing a declaration on climate change, vowing to work toward carbon-neutral growth and a totally sustainable industry. The declaration is not “just fine words,” according to summit organizer Philippe Rochat. “For the first time, the industry can agree on a set of common goals and a pathway to achieve those goals …[we are devoting] energy, investment and sheer determination to ensure the industry has a sustainable future.” Keith Johnson, blogging at The Wall Street Journal, suggests the industry’s green agenda may be driven more by economic concerns than environmental ones.

With Earth Day celebrated around the world on Tuesday, executives from Boeing and Airbus joined together at the third Aviation & Environment Summit, in Geneva, to announce they will work together to create a more efficient air traffic system that will save energy. "I am convinced technology and innovation hold the key to reducing aviation's environmental impact and increasing eco-efficiency," said Airbus CEO Tom Enders. Other aviation leaders at the event joined in signing a declaration on climate change, vowing to work toward carbon-neutral growth and a totally sustainable industry. The declaration is not "just fine words," according to summit organizer Philippe Rochat. "For the first time, the industry can agree on a set of common goals and a pathway to achieve those goals ...[we are devoting] energy, investment and sheer determination to ensure the industry has a sustainable future." Keith Johnson, blogging at The Wall Street Journal, suggests the industry's green agenda may be driven more by economic concerns than environmental ones.

"Airlines got the green bug a few years ago when fuel prices started rising," says Johnson. The summit's four-step plan includes new technologies, including cleaner fuels; better fuel efficiency; more efficient air-traffic management; and "positive economic instruments" to cut greenhouse gasses wherever it's "cost-effective." The summit's declaration calls on governments to help finance these changes -- all of which will also help the airlines' bottom line.