Aviation data and advisory company IBA has launched a carbon emissions calculator for the aviation industry. The tool integrates the company’s proprietary fuel-burn assessments with real-world flights and fleets data from its InsightIQ intelligence platform.
According to IBA, the carbon modelling tool is a first of its kind and enables users to calculate and compare emissions by airlines, lessors, entire aircraft fleets and regions over different periods of time. The tool can also be used to analyse specific commercial aircraft models and routes and allows users to map emissions geographically and measure the potential impact of adding percentages of sustainable aviation fuel.
Environmental optimisation
IBA says the versatile new tool will allow the aviation community perform due diligence on new asset purchases. It can also be used to monitor compliance with environmental targets and understand whether the right aircraft are being deployed across certain routes to optimise environmental performance.
Phil Seymour, President and Head of Advisory at IBA, commented: “Carbon emissions and ESG are at the top of the aviation finance agenda. Total emissions are clearly most impacted by the volume of flights. However, the aircraft and engine technology generation, and the seating layout are big drivers of overall efficiency on a Co2 per seat mile basis.”
According to IBA, the top 30 airlines have accounted for over 50% of the total aviation industry’s Scope 1 emissions over the last three years and, 42% of total Scope 1 emissions in 2020 were from aircraft of 10+ years of age. Reflecting the significant reduction in flights due to Covid-19 across the industry, there was a 46% drop in total Scope 1 emissions from 2018 to 2020.
Reducing total emissions from aviation is a long-term social and technological challenge. However, there is much the aviation finance industry can do in the meantime to promote the use of efficient, new generation aircraft and engines to help limit emission growth.
Phil Seymour, President and Head of Advisory at IBA
Sharing insight on the sector’s environmental performance, Seymour noted that the three most efficient top 30 airline operators on a Co2 per seat mile basis in 2020 were all low-cost carriers that have an average in-service fleet age of only seven years compared to the top 30 average of 11 years. This reflects both their newer generation fleets and more efficient cabin layouts. “The more efficient low-cost airlines with their denser seating layouts may put pressure on traditional carriers to reduce their premium seating to improve overall efficiency,” Seymour explained.
