Eyeing upcoming international negotiations on aviation environmental standards, GAMA formally joined the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), a coalition created to provide a unified voice in promoting environmentally sustainable aviation industry growth. GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce said the association will work with industry stakeholders under the ATAG umbrella as the 39th General Aviation Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization develops environmental standards in 2016.
“The general aviation manufacturing industry is committed to addressing climate change by improving the fuel efficiency of aviation as the industry grows,” Bunce said, adding that ATAG is urging the development of standards that “are technically feasible and economically reasonable, help to protect the environment and allow aviation to grow on a sustainable basis for the long term.”
The business aviation community, including GAMA and the International Business Aviation Council, in 2009 set goals of carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onward; a 2-percent annual improvement in fuel efficiency through 2020; and a 50-percent reduction in total CO2 emissions by 2050.