No Mention Of Environmental Progress Made By Industry

The National Business Aviation Association is pushing back in a big way on a recent report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) that it says provides an incomplete and inaccurate depiction of business jet emissions and private aviation in general.

The ICCT report claims that private jets are “a large and growing source of air and climate pollution” and says that a typical aircraft emits about 810 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) in a year, or about the equivalent of 177 cars. The report goes on to propose that taxing private jets could generate “substantial revenue” to support decarbonization in aviation.

In a letter addressed to the Washington Post and other news outlets, Ed Bolen, President and CEO of NBAA noted that the report failed to acknowledge that business aviation has reduced its emissions by 40% over the past 40 years and that new aircraft and engines are 35% more efficient than earlier models.

Bolen also said, “The report’s authors draw their conclusions by leaning heavily on a dubious extrapolation of flight tracking data that, by the authors’ own admission, includes a double-digit percentage of flights with ‘incomplete departure or arrival information.’”

He also noted that the report disregarded the fact that business aviation accounts for less than 1% of ALL transportation emissions. In addition, the industry has set a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through the use of sustainable fuels, or SAF, as well as developing electric, hybrid, and hydrogen propulsion technologies, among other solutions.

“Why were readers not told about that information?” Bolen asked in his letter.

Bolen concluded his letter by saying, “Finally, in offering a distorted picture of business aviation, [articles about the report miss] the larger point about its value: business aircraft allow companies to optimize efficiency, productivity, and flexibility in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.”

FMI:  nbaa.org/