I did not know quite to expect at this year’s Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. By many accounts, this is one of aviation’s top events, where large aircraft orders are announced and the latest advances in aviation technology are on display. Metron Aviation was part of the Alternative Aviation Fuels Showcase (http://www.alt.parisairshow.com/), a display featuring over a dozen alternative fuel producers and other organizations representing different parts of the supply chain. Collectively, we were not selling aircraft or maintenance services or any of the other traditional offerings at this kind of events. What we were demonstrating was that aviation alternative fuels have arrived.
As economies develop and our world becomes more interconnected, the need for air transportation increases. As aviation activity grows, so does its environmental footprint. The aviation industry has historically taken decisive action to reduce fuel consumption, noise, and other environmental impacts with great success. Recognizing that we need to continue pushing the envelope to minimize our environmental footprint as we grow, the industry has set ambitious goals to meet this responsibility. This is exemplified in the targets set by IATA for the coming decades:
- 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency between now and 2020
- Carbon-neutral growth by 2020
- 50% absolute reduction in aviation emissions by 2050 compared with 2005
