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Review on IATA Wings of Change Conference 2008
FuelPlus sponsored this year's IATA Wings of Change Conference, which took place in Santiago, Chile, on the 1st and 2nd of April. Jaime Escobar, FuelPlus' Director for Latin America, participated in Latin America's most important airline meeting and had the opportunity to speak with many airlines about improvements in fuel management.
The fifth edition of the conference attracted a record attendance of 550 participants, including the CEOs and representatives from 24 Latin American airlines, airport authorities, and civil aviation authorities from 17 countries, delegates from IATA, ALTA, ICAO, and LACAC (Latin American Civil Aviation Commission), and of course, the industry providers and partners. The summit of this year’s fair was the presentation of the Airbus 380.
The speaker presentations evolved around the problems and the unique position of Latin America in the global context, which for example covered topics as the growth of the markets, the strength of the airlines, and the perspectives for the near future. ALTA also presented the jet fuel trends and challenges in Latin America, to which for example the local prices belong that are much higher compared to the rest of the world due to numerous fees and taxes on jet fuel.
However, the main issue discussed in the conference was the aviation industry’s preoccupation on climatic change and environmental impact. Even though the industry is responsible for less than two per cent of the total CO2 emissions in the world, this amount corresponds to one sixth of the CO2 produced by land transportation. To launch an initiative for reducing the industry’s CO2 emissions substantially, IATA, together with ALTA, ICAO, and LACAC, invited the participants to become "Green Aviation Partners".
This initiative includes ten practices as for example
- the incorporation of environmental criteria on everyday’s decisions,
- a more efficient dealing with resources by using available technology and eco-efficient programs, and
- the promotion of research and development of innovative solutions to reduce the impact on the environment.
The first step was the donation of 500 trees to be planted at Cerro Calan in Santiago, in cooperation with Cultiva ONG. The conference concluded by signing the "Santiago Declaration", in which all participants declared to adhere to the "Green Aviation Partner" program.
The presentations may be downloaded from the IATA website www.wingsofchange.cl.
(published on 04/23/08)