§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on the air transport industry on 14 January (HL Deb, col. 825), what work is being done with international civil aviation organisations; which organisations these are; what reports have been produced so far; and when they will be in a position to initiate a debate on the outcomes of this work. [HL2803]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe International Civilxs Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is the foremost international forum for all aviation issues. Environmental issues are considered by ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP). My department is represented on CAEP and most of its six current working groups. These are looking at ways of limiting noise and gaseous emissions from aircraft by better design and better operating procedures matters, and at ways of incentivising the industry to limit emissions and/or accelerate the introduction of cleaner aircraft by market-based options, such as emissions permit trading, environmental charges and voluntary agreements, for reducing emissions from aviation.
A composite resolution on ICAO's policies and practices related to environmental protection was unanimously agreed at the 33rd Assembly of ICAO last October. A copy has been placed in the Library. The technical standards agreed by ICAO for limiting noise and emissions from aviation are debated in both Houses when the Government table proposed orders to give them effect in UK legislation. The most recent example is the Air Navigation (Environmental Standards) Order 2002. This was debated in the House of Lords on 14 February.
In addition, my department participates in consideration of aviation environmental issues in the relevant regional forums of ICAO member states, the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and, of course in the European Union.
§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on the air transport industry on 14 January (HL Deb, col. 825), whether they have initiated any research into reducing emissions from civil aircraft; and, if so, which companies and organisations are involved. [HL2804]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonResearch on aircraft emissions has been commissioned by several government departments since the early 1990s in support of the UK's call for tougher action within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and International Civil Aviation Organisation. Currently the Government are supporting a number of national projects and UK participation in collaborative international research aimed at understanding and mitigating the effects of aircraft emissions upon the atmosphere and local air 197WA quality. These research projects are intended to explore technology options for low emissions combustion, increase understanding of the nature and extent of particle formation in jet engine combustion; narrow the uncertainty regarding the impact of aviation on climate change; examine the possible trade-offs between different pollutants that would arise from potential measures to reduce emissions; contribute to the development of an EU database of global aircraft emissions; establish the feasibility of using carbon isotopes to identify the source of unburned hydrocarbon deposits; and examine the relationship between certificated noise and emissions performance and operational practice.
Research by the UK aviation industry with government support into the possible scope for biofuels as an alternative to kerosene is also currently under way.
In addition, two further programmes of research are relevant. One is assessing the impact of climate change on the Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere (UTLS). This programme is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and managed by Cambridge University. Some projects in this programme are also concerned with better understanding the potential impact of aviation on the upper atmosphere. The other is the Civil Aviation Research and Demonstration programme (CARAD) which is funded and managed by DTI. Some projects in this programme are concerned with reducing emissions by improved combustion technology.
In addition to those already mentioned, companies and organisations involved in this research include DEFRA, DTLR, AEA Technology, Aero and Industrial Technology Ltd, BAe Systems, Rolls Royce, TRW Lucas, QinetiQ (formerly part of MoD's Defence Evaluation Research Agency) and Cranfield, Loughborough, Nottingham and Sheffield universities.