Iata is poised to publish proposals for an aviation emissions reporting standard, with director general Willie Walsh insisting “as an industry, we have to get better”.
Walsh said: “It is critical people have confidence when an airline is reporting [emissions] that the way they’re reporting is credible and can be verified and audited.”
He said the reporting standard could become mandatory for Iata airlines “so people aren’t abusing the system”.
Speaking on a Capa Centre for Aviation webinar, Walsh argued: “Airlines have always focused on the amount of fuel they use. Where there have been issues is where airlines report things like CO2 per passenger kilometre and there isn’t the same standard being used. We’re working to establish a recommended practice on reporting.
“We’ve consulted widely and will be publishing something shortly. We’re debating whether we make it a requirement for airline members to report in a single way.”
Walsh acknowledged the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is also working on a standard for reporting emissions.
He argued: “There is a direct relationship between the amount of kerosene [fuel burned] and CO2. Every tonne of kerosene produces 3.16 tonnes of CO2.
“But when people are reporting emissions in grams per passenger kilometre we have to make sure we’re all using the same criteria.”
Walsh insisted: “Airlines that miss-state their performance will get caught out and be shamed.
“We saw the controversy with the auto industry when it became clear some manufacturers were cheating with the way they reported their environmental performance. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen in the airline industry.
“Where we can see evidence of people miss-reporting emissions we’ll call it out.”
He added: “Iata covers 82% of the industry. If we can get an accepted practice – and if necessary mandate it to give credibility to it – I believe the rest of the industry will follow.”
Walsh dismissed the many carbon calculators available to passengers to calculate the emissions from specific flights, saying: “They’re all wrong. We know that for a fact. Some calculations are grossly overstated, some grossly understated.”