Boeing has set an ambitious target that all of its commercial aircraft will be able to fly on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuels by 2030, according to a statement on its website.
Currently, sustainable aviation fuels are mixed in a 50/50 blend with conventional jet fuel – the maximum amount allowed under specifications. Sustainable fuels can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 per cent, with the potential to reach up to 100 per cent, according to studies by the Air Transport Action Group, the US Department of Energy and others.
“Our industry and customers are committed to addressing climate change, and sustainable aviation fuels are the safest and most measurable solution to reduce aviation carbon emissions in the coming decades,” Stan Deal, president and chief executive, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said.
“We’re committed to working with regulators, engine companies and other key stakeholders to ensure our airplanes and eventually our industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels.”
We're committed to working with regulators, engine companies and other key stakeholders to ensure our airplanes and eventually our industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels
The International Air Travel Association has committed to cut emissions to half of the 2005 level by 2050 and pledged carbon-neutral growth starting from 2020. Commercial flying accounts for about 2 per cent of global carbon emissions.
To meet this target, aeroplanes need the capability to fly on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuels well before 2050, the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer said in the statement.
Boeing has previously conducted successful test flights replacing petroleum jet fuel with 100 per cent sustainable fuels. In 2018, the Boeing ecoDemonstrator flight test programme made the world's first commercial aeroplane flight using 100 per cent sustainable fuels with a 777 Freighter, in collaboration with FedEx Express. The ecoDemonstrator programme uses commercial aircraft to test technologies in the air.
Sustainable aviation fuels can be made from non-edible plants, agricultural and forestry waste, non-recyclable household waste, industrial plant off-gassing and other sources.
“Sustainable aviation fuels are proven, used every day, and have the most immediate and greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions in the near and long term when we work together as an industry,” Chris Raymond, Boeing's chief sustainability officer, said.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.