Creating More Environmental Regulations for Airlines in the European Union - Essay Example

CREATING MORE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY What’s Our Next Move? International Tourism Management The purpose of thispaper is to present an argument in favor of creating more environmental regulations for airlines in the European Union. The format that this paper will utilize is to present a logical argument that CO² emissions are harmful to the environment. Secondly this paper will highlight what the emissions regulatory environment is in the European Union some of the emissions trends are in the European Union. Lastly this paper will conclude with some arguments as to improvements that can be made. According to Demerjian (2008) it is the case that CO² emissions emanating from the airline industry are even higher than previously expected. The article cited that airlines emit approximately twenty percent more carbon dioxide into the environment than previously expected and the industry as a whole could be putting about 1.5 billion tones a year by 2025 assuming current growth trends. In the European context it is the case that current output is approximately 3.1 billion tones annually which accounts for the twenty seven member states and population of just over 500 million people. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2008) it is the case that there is a strong correlation between increasing carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and climate change. Put simply, when there is an increase the level of carbon dioxide we increase the temperature of the earth and visa versa. Moreover there are more consequences other than simple temperature change, according to the NOAA during glacial times several meteorological anomalies such as monsoons, hurricanes etc were much weaker and as such when carbon dioxide levels increase, global temperatures increase and we increase the severity of meteorological events. Moreover there are current consequences to airline travel and environmental problems. According to a study conducted by Bettex (2010) writing for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology it is the case that pollution from airplanes flying at ‘cruse’ altitudes actively contributes to approximately 8,000 deaths per year globally. This is owing to fine particulate matter which is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and many of these particulates are harmful to people’s health. According to a cited study from the World Health Organization (WHO) approximately one million people die each year from pollution owing to respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular illnesses. The problems is that most emissions are only tracked and regulated up to about 3,000 feet because it was previously believed that anything above this point was likely to be deposited and trapped in the upper atmosphere. However most air traffic occurs in the Northern hemisphere and eastward traveling winds bring the pollutants to South Asia and in these regions there are high concentrations of ammonia in the atmosphere (resulting from their farming techniques) and this reacts with the oxidized mono-nitrogen oxides which bring the particulates to the ground. The BBC (2007) had highlighted that the Airline Industry in Europe accounts for only 2% of carbon dioxide emissions and the real target for higher regulation should be power generation & land travel however what this argument does not highlight is that these 2% still account for a tremendous amount of dangerous output and changes should apply to all industries where possible to improve the overall quality of our environment. Now that it has been established that there is a negative environmental consequence from aircraft flying the question is whether or not this effect can be reversed through government legislation. Firstly there is a business case for airlines to reduce their environmental impact. According to the BBC (2007) Ryanair’s president Michael O’leary states that his airline is the ‘Greenest’ in Europe. O’leary had stated that even though it is the case that Ryanair was increasing in size, the company had also used approximately £10 billion to invest in newer planes which overall cut their fuel consumption and overall carbon dioxide output. Moreover the company dies everything to ensure their organization runs as efficiently as possible. However Ryanair has been criticized for having such low fares that they encourage more people to travel needlessly. In addition to this point, several airlines offer a bloated executive class, first class and business class which means that the airplanes are not filling their planes to capacity, moreover they often utilize outdated airplanes that do not have optimal performance engines. It is upon this foundation that the EU is putting into place a regulation that taxes airlines that go above their current levels of emissions under the Emissions Trading Scheme which will go into place by 2011. The way that this system works is that it gives permits to all airlines and those who cut their emissions would be able to sell their surplus credits, and airlines that increase their emissions would be forced to pay a penalty to the regulatory committee. It is upon this foundation that one could state that this solution is not only logical but it is likely to generate results. It places a system into effect that gives positive and negative consequences to airlines. Moreover legislators could increase taxes on aircraft fuel which increases the overall cost of flying for the airlines and passengers alike. As such this increased price would decrease the amount of people that could afford to fly. However this would pressure airlines to invest in energy saving techniques that would reduce the overhead of flying and as such ensure that their margins remain higher. Case in point is the new Airbus A380 aircraft which has 20% better fuel economy per passenger over comparable aircraft (Buyck, 2007). By airlines adopting this new aircraft they recognize a 20% fuel savings which would offset any new increases in fuel tax. Moreover this airplane can carry twice as many passengers as some other aircraft, and by there being fewer airplanes on the runway there is a reduction in the amount of taxi time and downtime engine running on the runway. There is little questioning that this issue is complex and as is often the case there may be no one simple solution to this problem. It is for this reason that I propose that the legislation of the airlines should be on three foundations. Firstly we should ensure that fuels are taxed at an amount that encourages airlines to find their own fuel savings. Secondly we should legislate that airplanes meet stricter emission controls to not only ensure that airplanes meet safety regulations but have their engines operating at optimal performance. Lastly we should ensure that in the airport environment that everything is done to ensure that airplanes are not sitting on the runway with idle engines. While the implementing of these measures may be strict it is a small price to pay to ensure that we best protect our environment References BBC News (2007) Ryanair Hits Back in ‘Green’ Row. [online] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6233019.stm Accessed on November 28th 2010. Bettex, M. (2010) A Link Between Air Travel and Deaths on the Ground. MITNews. [online] Available at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/airplane-emissions-0928.html Accessed on November 28th 2010. Buyck, C (2007)SIA’s Chew: A380 Pleases, Virgin Atlantic Disappoints. [online] Available at http://atwonline.com/aircraftenginescomponents/news/sias-chew-a380-pleases-virgin-atlantic-disappoints-0309 Accessed on November 28th 2010. Demerjian, D (2008) Airline Emissions: Even Worse Than You Think. Wired. [online] Available at http://www.wired.com/autopia/2008/05/airline-emissio/ Accessed on November 28th 2010. FAA (2008) Differences in GHC Performances [online] Available at http://tiny.cc/6h3yz Accessed on November 28th 2010. Full Article available at http://www.faa.gov/news/testimony/news_story.cfm?newsid=10217 Accessed on November 28th 2010. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2008) Temperature Change and Carbon Dioxide Change. [online] Available at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/temperature-change.html Accessed on November 28th 2010. Read More