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New Zealand signs deal with U.S., Australia to reduce air emissions |
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15:12, February 22, 2008 |
The aviation services of New Zealand, the United States and Australia have signed an agreement this week to reduce the environmental footprint from aircraft, New Zealand media reported on Friday.
Airways New Zealand -- New Zealand's air navigation service -- the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Air services Australia signed the agreement -- Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE) -- at the Singapore Aviation Summit.
Airways New Zealand communications spokesman Ken Mitchell said the agreement would mean the countries would be able to collaborate on what each other was doing in terms of reducing emissions.
He said certain wind patterns affected fuel emissions, so working out optimal routes for flights was one of the things Airways New Zealand was working on.
Another was making sure aircraft had continuous descents when landing.
He said the partnership was about collaborating on a level that had not been done before.
Airways New Zealand chief executive officer Ashley Smout said on Tuesday the agreement would mean they would be working closely with airline customers and stakeholders to accelerate the development of air traffic control procedures, which would further reduce emissions.
He said they also had an opportunity to influence the air navigation industry through implementing world-wide environmentally friendly procedures and standards.
He said the aviation sector currently represented 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
He said while there had been improvements, one of the biggest challenges was the Asia Pacific region.
Smout said the agreement would mean they would be implementing new procedures and operations along key Asian and South Pacific routes to combat the impact of growth in that region on the environment.
Mitchell said they would be looking to introduce new technologies for the Asian and South Pacific region when they became economically viable.
Airways New Zealand works with airlines flying over New Zealand's 37 million square km of airspace to reduce aircraft emissions.
One of their initiatives has been a trial with Air New Zealand and Qantas to reduce fuel burn and greenhouse gas emissions on flight descents.
Source: Xinhua
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