With a robust regime being put into place in North America and Europe, it is only a question of time when the heat will be felt by India and some tangible steps would have to be taken to conform to internationally acceptable and enforceable standards and norms on aviation emissions

Barring a few feeble notes of disagreement, the general consensus is that recession is over. Economies are showing signs of returning to good health, jobs are becoming easier to come by, and the term “green shoots” is being used more and more frequently to indicate signs of economic recovery. An interesting development related to the recovery is the shift from short-term threats (unemployment, rising costs, shortfalls) to more abstract, long-term and uncertain threats such as global warming and related environment issues. The civil aviation industry, like any other, is affected by both these phenomenon— post-recession signs of recovery and renewed trepidation over environment issues.

Business aviation, as that component of civil aviation that provides efficient, productive and secure business travel, need not be seen as a luxury for the affluent business man or executive, but instead as a business communication tool—an air transport option tailored to the specific needs of companies and individuals (in contrast to scheduled airline flights). Business aviation operations could be corporate (non-commercial operations, with professional aircrew operating), private (noncommercial operation flown by owner of aircraft), fractional (non-commercial, shared ownership operations) or charter/air taxi type commercial, on-demand operations. The type of aircraft in use vary from large cabin ones to medium size, light and very light aircraft (say very light jets and turbo-props). The total number of business aircraft being used all over the world could be upward of 55,000, according to one estimate. Of these roughly half that figure would be jets, the rest being made up of turbo-jets, turbo-props and piston-engine aircraft. However, the average annual utilisation of business aircraft is around 400-500 hours in contrast to 3,000 hours for commercial aircraft, consequently, the CO₂ emissions produced by business aircraft as a percentage of total aviation emissions of CO₂ is estimated to be only 1 per cent to 2 per cent. Thus it can be seen that although the business aviation aircraft numbers are large, their total contribution to the impact on environment is proportionately small due to the small size of the aircraft and their low utilisation rates. Worldwide, due to its peculiar posturing in the overall civil aviation industry, business aviation represents a growth area with latest policies by regulatory authorities, better aircraft designs, increased shareholder scrutiny and a focussed perspective on environmental awareness.

In November 2009, a host of business aviation associations from across the globe unveiled a plan to limit the business aviation industry’s emissions footprint on a document entitled Business Aviation Statement on Climate Change. The document supported the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Declaration on International Aviation and Climate Change and espoused the acceptance of an ICAO proposal for aviation sectoral management of targets and monitoring of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a post-Kyoto Agreement. To this end, the business aviation community committed to the following specific targets:

• Carbon-neutral growth by 2020.
• An improvement in fuel efficiency of an average of 2 per cent per year until 2020.
• A reduction in its total CO₂ emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 relative to 2005.

Business aircraft are usually flown on point to point flights for specific purposes and endeavour to fly efficient, direct routes between airports (more often small or secondary airports than metro ones). It could be argued that business aviation is more efficient from the environmental point of view than commercial aviation because the latter flies scheduled routes, which once scheduled, have to be flown irrespective of seat occupancy. In contrast, business aviation undertakes specific flights to convey a passenger or positions to pick him up. Modern navigation equipment, combined with the latest technologies in aircraft and engine design and operational best practice provide for ever improving fuel efficiency and reduced GHG emissions. Thus, the community, represented by regional/national business aviation associations, claims an excellent environmental record, but states that it is resolved to do more. Business aviation manufacturing and operating communities have jointly developed an aggressive programme in support of ICAO targets and are committed to contributing to the overall aviation goals.

Business aviation aims to achieve these objectives through expected advances in four areas—technology, infrastructure and operational improvements, alternative fuels and marketbased measures. As far as technology is concerned, the focus is on improved efficiency—aircraft must be as light as possible and use as little fuel as possible in order to transport a payload as far as possible. Business aircraft manufacturers have to lead the way in the use of innovative technologies that allow for more efficient operations. Manufacturers are firmly committed to continue on this path. The collective promise of the business aircraft which manufacturing industry is to build a business aircraft by 2050 will be 45 per cent more fuel-efficient than the ones built in 2005. The issue of aircraft noise has been addressed by ICAO since the 1960s for the aviation industry as a whole; the first of noise-related standards and recommended practices (SARP) were trundled out in 1971. The international business community, represented by International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), is assertive that globally all business aircraft meet the SARPs. Indeed, it feels that business aircraft have exploited emerging technologies more than aviation as a whole in noise reduction. This is applicable to noise reduction methods applicable to engine and airframe noise. Engine emissions have been addressed very labouriously by ICAO and it is impossible to imagine an aircraft—business aviation or otherwise—to be non-compliant with the SARPs related to CO₂, soot or carbon (C), NOx, CO, and particulates. Four of the major engine manufacturers—Pratt & Whitney, GE, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, continue to conduct research into the next generation of improvements for aircraft engines. However, environmental concerns are also addressed indirectly through airframe improvements to achieve a competitive advantage over other manufacturers and to provide customers with aircraft that had more range, improved efficiency, and greater capability. This applies to both airliners and to business aircraft. The objective is to design aircraft for greater fuel efficiency by reducing the weight of the aircraft and/or to reduce its drag with improved aerodynamics. New materials, in particular composites, are enabling aircraft manufacturers to make aircraft that are substantially lighter yet retain the strength of the earlier, heavier materials. These lighter materials help to reduce fuel consumption significantly, which in turn reduces emissions. Improved maintenance procedures can provide significant improvements in efficiency and therefore will decrease the environmental impact. Aircraft engines have very sophisticated electronic devices that measure fuel flow. If the computer detects higher than allowed fuel consumption, the problem is identified and rectified as soon as practicable. This is primarily for safety reasons but this practice also contributes to environmental efficiency. Combinations of engine and airframe improvements will deliver the most significant reductions in environmental impact.