Aircraft manufacturers to collaborate on biofuel commercialisation

Boeing, Airbus and Embraer say they have agreed to work together to encourage government, biofuel producers and other key stake holders to support, promote and accelerate the availability of sustainable new jet fuel sources. Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and ceo Jim Albaugh, Airbus president and ceo Tom Enders, and Embraer Commercial Aviation president Paulo Cesar Silva, signed the agreement at the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva. "There are times to compete and there are times to cooperate," said Albaugh. "Two of the biggest threats to our industry are the price of oil and the impact of commercial air travel on our environment. By working with Airbus and Embraer on sustainable biofuels, we can accelerate their availability and reduce our industry's impacts on the planet we share." "We've achieved a lot in the last ten years in reducing our industry's CO₂ footprint - a 45% traffic growth with only 3% more fuel consumption," added Enders. "The production and use of sustainable quantities of aviation biofuels is key to meeting our industry's ambitious CO₂ reduction targets and we are helping to do this through research and technology, our expanding network of worldwide value chains and supporting the EU commission towards its target of four percent of biofuel for aviation by 2020." ATAG executive director Paul Steele maintained the significance of having all three aviation leaders on board, and said it underscored the importance and focus the industry is placing on sustainable practices. "Through these types of broad industry collaboration agreements, aviation is doing all it can to drive measurable reductions in carbon emissions, while continuing to provide strong global economic and social value," he concluded.