REFUELLING TOURISM FLIGHTS    

Roshini Galappatti describes the challenges the airlines are
likely to face in the longer term in order to continue flying

Global tourism is dependent on aviation; therefore, the two industries are seen as perpetrators in worsening carbon emissions. Aviation contributes over 700 million tonnes (around 3%) of global carbon emissions annually and is expected to rise to three billion tonnes by 2050 if the industry continues in its present growth trajectory.

In a bid to redeem itself of this reputation, the aviation industry mapped a way forward for the introduction of sustainable biofuels to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels in air transport and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. For over a decade, this seemed a mere pipe dream. In July this year, biofuels entered the fray as a realistic alternative after the global standards agency ASTM International (previously known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) approved for airlines use biofuels derived through the hydro-treated renewable jet process.

The approval encourages airlines to fly commercial flights with up to 50 per cent biofuels. On the back of this approval, Thomson Airways undertook the very first commercial biofuel flight from a UK airport in October, in a bid to make a statement on the necessity for the industry to embrace alternative forms of fuel, and for governments to motivate and promote this conversion.

The Thomson flight made headlines for two reasons. Whilst the flight went down in aviation history as a turning point, conservationists viewed it as a double-edged sword. Environmentalists who claim that biofuel is not a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels heralded Thomson’s biofuel flight in protest. Since biofuel is plant-derived, it is felt that large-scale production will continue to escalate social and environmental problems.

Whilst biofuels can assist the industry to achieve carbon-neutral growth, its short supply and raw materials for deriving biofuels places the industry in a quagmire. The commercial use of sustainable biofuels necessitates this alternative to be available in large quantities at a competitive price.

The controversy surrounding biofuel stems mainly from the fear that agriculture could veer from serving consumer markets to industrial markets, causing pressure on food prices. An initial rush to produce fuel from edible crops like corn, sugarcane and palm oil was blamed for contributing to the spike in food prices in 2007.

In addition, another major concern of widespread biofuel production is the increased scale at which crops would have to be grown to meet demand, thus spurring demand for land on which to grow crops. This can intensify pressure both on agricultural land as well as on undeveloped land.

This extensive requirement of land is viewed as a possible threat to forests, natural habitats and agriculture.

From a social perspective, the growing demand for land is a precursor to placing intense pressure on indigenous and native communities. From a sustainable-tourism perspective, many destinations may be placed in a complex situation – one where economic gains from biofuel feeder production exceeds the gain from preservation of tourism assets.

However, the aviation industry is emphatic that the impact will be minimised. In an effort to do so, it is exploring the development of aviation biofuel not from food crops but from ‘first-generation crops’ – inedible weeds and algae. The intention is to ensure that production will not encroach fertile land or harm natural preservations and forests. Yet, commercial growth of algae and weeds will require vast amounts of water. Conservationists believe that the setting up of aquaculture systems will put pressure on other crucial and scarce resources such as water, stretch­ing the planet’s capacity and changing aqua-ecosystems.

There has also been headway in developing aviation biofuel from organic waste. This may be an alternative that actually has promise sans the detriments.

Asia will be one of the main potential producers of biofuels in the future. The continent’s mega cities produce millions of tonnes of organic waste which can be converted to aviation biofuel. It is estimated that 500,000 tonnes of organic waste can be converted to 16 million gallons of jet biofuels each year.

While this seems like a considerable amount, it is only a small component of total world consumption. The United States alone consumes a whopping 17.5 billion gallons of jet fuel annually for passenger and cargo flights.

Yet, the bottom line is that biofuel does have the potential to assist the global aviation industry to reduce emissions. IATA targets a 50 per cent reduction in aviation-industry emissions by 2050 (compared to 2005 emission levels) and if this target is to be achieved, biofuel will have to be a part of the equation for emissions reduction.

It is obvious that several challenges would have to be overcome for aviation biofuels to become commercially viable. For sustainable travel and tourism, biofuels will become the saviour of the day.

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