Saturday, September 28, 2013

Chinese plane makers building low-carbon planes


By CCTV reporter Grace Brown

As the International Civil Aviation Organisation, or ICAO, meets in Montreal to try to reach a deal on the EU’s planned carbon tax -- known as the Emissions Trading Scheme, or ETS -- new technologies to make Chinese planes greener are now on show at the 2013 Beijing Aviation Expo. 

The EU’s planned 15 percent carbon tax could have cost eight Chinese airlines -- including China Eastern and China Southern airlines fines of 2.4 million euros, or roughly 3 million US dollars. Earlier this month though, sources with the EU indicated it’s willing to compromise.

Chinese planemakers are going green, too. Not just to cut costs -- but to comply with
China’s latest aviation policy.
If it’s opponents, led by China and the United States, apply a similar levy, by 2016. Now, Brussels has put the plan to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in hope of reaching a deal to tackle airline emissions. But at the Beijing Aviation Expo, other ideas are in the pipeline to make airlines more carbon-friendly.

Airbus’s newest model, the A350, is also designed to save fuel made in a joint
venture with its Chinese partners.
"Despite it’s strong opposition to the EU’s carbon tax, China is taking steps to cut its carbon footprint in the skies. With new technology being unveiled at the expo today, that will make Chinese airlines greener in the future."

One example is the Electric Green Taxiing System, or EGTS, developed by Honeywell and Safran as an alternative to turbofan engines. When it hits the market in 2016, it could save airlines up to USD 200,000 a year during take-off and landing -- a significant part of airlines’ fuel costs 6%.

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