REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE AVIATION INDUSTRY
In 2018, the aviation industry accounted for 2.5% of global (CO ) emissions or about 12% of Co emissions from all 2 2 transportation sources. As one of the main pillars of mobility and transport in the global socio-economic landscape, the aviation industry has recorded an average annual growth of 5% since 1995, or almost double the global GDP growth (ICAO, 2022).
βThe industry is growing at such a rate that we need to do something to ensure its impact on the environment can be minimisedβ, Santiago Haya-Leiva, Project Manager of the EUSoutheast Asia Cooperation on Mitigating Climate Change Impact from Civil Aviation (EU-SEA CCCA) CORSIA project said.
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation or CORSIA, is a global market-based measure for aviation emissions adopted by member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in October 2016.
Funded by the EU and implemented by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the project supports ASEAN Member States in the implementation of CORSIA.
Captain Jani of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has been working with the Malaysian aviation industry since 2005, and when the implementation of CORSIA was transferred to his unit, βWe were determined to be at the forefront in promoting the environmental sustainability of the aviation industryβ, Capt. Jani said
Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Capt. Jani and his team, supported by the CORSIA project, managed to develop and implement the Aviation Emissions Data Management System, which significantly streamlined the data collection and verification process. βWe used to do this manually, but with the new system, we can do it faster, more efficiently and more accuratelyβ, Capt. Jani added.
Committed not only to contributing to the development of Malaysiaβs civil aviation technical sector but also to compliance with ICAOβs standards, the CAAM is working with all its key stakeholders to prepare its first State Action Plan. βThis Action Plan is our commitment to managing our carbon emissionand protecting the environmentβ, Capt. Jani said.
The ASEAN region contains over half (56%) of all global tropical peatlands, which stores 68 billion tonnes of the worldβs carbon. These peatlands are also home to some of the most endangered species of flora and fauna.
Launched in November 2019, the Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA) programme combines both a governmental and non-state actor approach to support ASEANβs strategy on peatland management and sustain local lively hoods.
Under the first component of the programme, the first SUPA pilot site was launched in Aceh, Indonesia on 15 June 2021.
