India pledges environmental action

India is making a considerable effort to join commercial aviation's environmental effort, Civil Aviation DG Nasim Zaidi said this week at the US-India Aviation Partnership Summit in Washington, with authorities committed to establishing a national inventory of carbon dioxide emissions for the sector (with a base year of 2005) along with programs compelling both airlines and airports to be more efficient and green.

"As a developing economy we have a concern of maintaining a balance between the sustainability of a growing economy and the adverse impact this growth can have on climate change," Zaidi said, adding that the Indian government has committed to a nationwide 20%-25% cut in emissions by 2025. "The objective is to provide enough space to the airlines to grow without adversely affecting the environment."

An Aviation Environment Unit reporting to the DGCA will identify problem areas, provide technical guidance and suggest solutions covering both environmental issues and noise to industry stakeholders, he said. Carriers, meantime, have been asked to create similar units within their own companies. "Our fuel efficiency is not in line with the global average" of 0.4 liters per RTK, he admitted. India currently is operating at 0.54 liters per RTK, with Kingfisher Airlines above 0.6 and Jet Airways around 0.5, Zaidi said. "We have work to do in this area." India's RTK production ranks 12th in the world, considering the EU as a single state.

Airlines have been instructed to adhere to proper maintenance procedures, minimize APU usage, use Performance Based Navigation and continuous descent and consider one-engine taxiing, among other initiatives. PBN has been implemented at Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad and is in progress at Chenai. On the ground, airlines and airports are being asked to monitor waste and look into using solar panels for lighting, constructing plants to recycle waste water or to generate electricity from waste and using compressed natural gas for ground vehicles.

Zaidi also said that India has "expressed our willingness" to join the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative