House of Commons - International Development Committee

Sustainable Development in a Changing Climate - International Development Committee Contents

Written evidence submitted by FlyingMatters

1. FlyingMatters is a coalition of organisations that support sustainable growth in air transport. Our membership includes trade unions, business, tourism groups, farmers in the developing world, as well as the aviation industry (aerospace manufacturers, airlines, airports and air traffic control). A full list of members is attached at Appendix 1.

2. We welcome the opportunity to respond to the International Development Committee's inquiry into "Sustainable Development in a Changing Climate". This submission will focus on the two elements of the inquiry which are relevant to the work of FlyingMatters. These are:

— the role of transport, including aviation, in economic development in developing countries, particularly freight and exports, and the impact of such transport on the environment; and

— the role of tourism in economic development, and the potential for sustainable tourism.

3. We welcome the inclusion of these levers of development within the remit of the inquiry. We believe that the role of aviation is vital in ensuring that developing nations can take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the growth in international tourism and those presented by consumer markets in developed nations for fresh and other produce from developing nations.

4. We have consistently argued for a balanced approach to the twin challenges of development and climate change which recognises the significant economic importance of air transport links to developing countries and sets this against the relatively small carbon footprint of those in the developing world.

5. This is not to suggest that the climate change impact should be ignored but it does need to be contextualised within the overall contribution of the activity and what the industry is doing to reduce that impact further.

6. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) aviation accounts for approximately 2% of global carbon emissions and they predict this will rise to 3% by 2050.[22] Taking into account non-CO2 factors would put this figure at 6% in 2050 on a mid-range scenario. According to Sustain, air freight of fresh produce is responsible for less than 1 per cent of those emissions[23].

7. A number of members of the FlyingMatters coalition will be submitting their own detailed evidence to the committee, including ABTA/FTO and BlueSkies setting out the value of tourism and trade to the developing world and how these can be sustainable.

8. FlyingMatters has recently engaged with a range of organisations working with farmers in the developing world including the Kenya and Ghana High Commissions. This was prompted by proposals by the Soil Association to remove organic status from air freighted fresh produce. We heard from producers in the developing world that, for them, there is no alternative to air freight. This is because the process of "adding value" to their produce means that the food has a very short shelf life and would not survive any other form of transportation. Air freight is an expensive form of transport and is used out of necessity.

9. We also heard how the fresh cut produce industry in the developing world is contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on adding value at source and the employment and education of women.

10. FlyingMatters is concerned that misguided attempts by organisations such as the Soil Association to address the very small climate change impact of air freight will have a disproportionate impact on thousands upon thousands of farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. These farmers would effectively be squeezed out of the UK market causing severe economic and social hardship to those reliant on trade with the developed world as their route out of poverty.

11. International tourism conveys equally important benefits where there is no domestic market to speak of which is capable of generating jobs and investment on the same scale. Jobs mean access to decent food, housing and, crucially for future development, education.

12. It is impossible to over state what this means to the communities reliant on tourism or on exporting fresh produce.

13. It is therefore imperative that policy decisions are based on the most authoritative sources of information about the climate change impact of aviation and the best available evidence of the impact of policy proposals on those at the sharp end in the developing world.

14. The full range of work being undertaken by the aviation industry to address its environmental impact must also be understood and taken into account.

15. Aviation already has a great track record of achieving improvements in respect of environmental issues. This includes greater efficiencies in fuel consumption, fuel emissions, noise emissions, and the ability to fly longer and further, so eliminating a mass of en-route refuelling stops.

16. Looking ahead, and continuing to provide even more improvements, there is a Europe-wide industry target to reduce the fuel consumption of new aircraft by 50% by 2020. This is on course to be met and the industry is already exploring targets beyond 2020. The UK aerospace industry spends £2.5 billion on research and development every year—the vast majority of which is geared to mitigating and reducing environmental impact. The UK aviation industry established the Sustainable Aviation initiative in 2005 which brings together all parts of the industry as signatories to more than 30 commitments to improve environmental impact on the ground and in the air. This is a world first.

17. All signatories to Sustainable Aviation (SA) are implementing individually appropriate strategies with a view to achieving the commitments relevant to them within the required timescale. Different timescales apply to different commitments—some can be delivered in the short term others are longer term commitments. In its first year SA gave top priority to its goals and commitments on climate change and local environmental impacts.

18. We believe that consumers should have access to balanced, factually correct information on which to base their choices—both in relation to what they buy in supermarkets and the holidays they choose to go on.

CONCLUSION

19. Recognising that aviation already is a leader in meeting environmental challenges, the aviation industry is working even harder to reduce its environmental impact. It is investing in developing new technology which will deliver cleaner, greener planes. This is coupled with support for market-based mechanisms, such as emissions trading, which will ensure emissions reductions across the economy. We believe that this is the best way to protect the access of people in the developing world to the benefits of aviation whilst at the same time the industry plays its part in combating climate change.

20. We urge the Committee to recognise that the debate around climate change and international development is a complicated one and that there is no single easy answer. We do not believe that proposals such as those from the Soil Association embody social equity or proportionality and represent a `stick' rather than a "carrot" approach to long term sustainability.

APPENDIX 1

MEMBERSHIP AS OF NOVEMBER 2008

— ABTA— ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives)

— African Organic Farming Foundation

— Airbus

— Amicus Section of Unite

— AOA (Airport Operators Association)

— AUC (Air Transport Users Council)

— BAA

— BACA (Baltic Air Charter Association)

— BATA (British Air Transport Association)

— BBGA (British Business and General Aviation Association)