The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has commended the Philippines for submitting its State Action Plan on CO2 (carbon dioxide) Emissions Reduction for International Aviation.
In a letter sent to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) last March 5, ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu commended the Philippine government for its commitment to environmental sustainability.
“The submission of an Action Plan provides an opportunity to establish and showcase strategies to reduce aviation emission,” Liu said.
A state action plan is a voluntary planning and reporting tool for countries to communicate information on their activities to address international civil aviation’s CO2 emissions.
The plan aims for better understanding of the share and projections of international aviation CO2 emissions, enhanced cooperation between all aviation stakeholders that can positively reflect on their operational areas, and the identification of the most relevant mitigation actions.
The Philippines’ state action plan indicates the activities undertaken by the country as well as planned mitigation strategies that it wants to implement in the future to further reduce C02 emissions.
“The CAAP is committed to addressing the climate change impacts of commercial aviation and achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions through an integrated strategy of technology, operations and policy framework,” the Philippines’ state action plan said.
“Recognizing the effects of global warming, the Philippines has been sincerely exerting aggressive efforts to minimize aviation’s carbon footprint through measures such as, including but not limited to, air traffic improvements, airport initiatives, as well as aircraft emission reduction measurements,” it added.
“These aim to continually address the GHG (greenhouse gas) emission from the air sector by targeting an average of 2% year-on-year improvement in fuel efficiency by 2020, in both domestic and international operations.”
Improving fuel efficiency
Aside from reducing GHG emission beyond 2020, the Philippines will also continue to make technical efforts and implement realizable measures to improve fuel efficiency by 25% by 2030 compared to that of the 2016 baseline.
Mitigation measures include developing bio-fuel (used cooking oil) as an alternative fuel as well as improving air traffic management and infrastructure by establishing a performance-based navigation (PBN) system in all public aerodromes to increase airspace capacity, improve aviation safety, and reduce aviation activities’ environmental impact.
Regulatory mitigation measures include transparent carbon reporting; use of consumer electronic devices such as tablets to replace the heavy paper flight manual maps and charts that pilots carry; and active participation in conferences and seminars for the aviation industry to educate and increase the awareness of the public in the aviation sector.
Green airports initiative
CAAP also has an ongoing initiative called “Green Airports,” which assists airports in embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental, and social developments.
The aviation authority also said it already implements LED lighting in some airports, replacing traditional lighting, thereby reducing light pollution as well as CO2 emissions and energy costs. Mactan-Cebu International Airport, meanwhile, is the first airport in the country with solar power installed.
Airline companies in the Philippines also contribute by launching new aircraft that provide a step-change in technology and reduce emission by fuel between 15% and 25%, as well as CO2 emission from the aircraft they replace.
According to CAAP, the Philippines’ State Action Plan on CO2 Emissions Reduction was achieved because of the initiatives of both DOTr and CAAP, under the leadership of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who is a firm advocate of clean air and clean environment.
In 2017, the country also proved its compliance with international safety standards by successfully passing the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme of the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission. In the audit, airports in the Philippines got an overall result of 70.19%, which is above the global average (64%), and significantly higher than the previous rating (59.94%).
Though the result was a notable improvement from previous years, Tugade still challenged CAAP to exceed its performance this year to assure the public of a safe and convenient air travel.
According to the ICAO website, 106 states have voluntarily submitted their state action plans.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
