Comprehensive aviation industry environmental policy study for US Government

Citation

(2008), "Comprehensive aviation industry environmental policy study for US Government", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 80 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2008.12780baf.006

Comprehensive aviation industry environmental policy study for US Government

Article Type: Mini features From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 80, Issue 2.

MVA Consultancy is a key member of an international study team which aims to develop the first comprehensive study system of aviation environmental effects.

To date, current modelling tools only study limited factors, but MVA is working with the US Federal Aviation Administration Office of Environment and Energy to develop the Aviation Portfolio Management Tool.

This will see MVA working alongside Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US Department of Transportation VOLPE Transportation Systems Center, Wyle Laboratories and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop and apply an economic analysis and forecasting tool which will be used to support environmental analyses by the USA and the International Civil Aviation Organisation Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection.

MVA Consultancy's Technical Director Richard Hancox said: “Aviation environmental effects result from complex interdependent technologies, operations, policies and market conditions. Current modelling tools only allow policy and R&D options to be considered in limited contexts such as noise, local air quality or climate change alone.”

“Also, only some of the economic and environmental effects are considered. This approach can lead to the selection of suboptimal policies and R&D options because actions in one domain may produce unintended negative consequences in another.”

“APMT is being designed to model the complex interdependencies of aviation technology development and fleet development, and assess more fully the impact of aviation environmental policies,” said MIT Project Director Ian Waitz.

It is anticipated that APMT will enable intergovernmental and national agencies to select the most efficient policies and R&D options that balance society's environmental and economic needs.

Richard notes that “Within the leadership of the FAA/MIT team, MVA is co-ordinating the development of the policy sensitive economic forecasting modules which are designed to help the international aviation community understand the economic consequences of environmental policy measures for the aviation industry. This builds on experience gained in this field over the last 10 years for a number of European clients.”