Aviation in is the lifeblood of the Asian economy. Across the region, 10.5 million aviation-related jobs support $807 billion in business. So it should come as no surprise that the industry is growing. What may surprise many is the re¬sponsible approach of the air transport industry — globally - to its environmental impacts.

The Intergovern¬mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that avia¬tion contributes 2 per cent of the world's man-made CO2. This is ex¬pected to grow to 3 per cent by 2050. This is far less than the cur¬rent emissions from road trans¬port, shipping, deforestation or energy production.

Aviation is, and will remain, a small part of the big problem of climate change.
Being small is not a licence for complacency. And a growing car¬bon footprint is unacceptable for any industry. Aviation has delivered impressive results.Over the last four decades, fuel efficiency improved 70 percent. And the billions being invested in new aircraft – some of which were showcased at the Singapore Air Show in February – are helping put aviation on target for a further 25 percent improvement in fuel efficiency by 2020.

IATA’s Green Teams are working with airlines around the world to identify environmental efficiencies. In 2007, they identified operational measures that 7 million tonnes of CO2. Another 4 million tonnes of CO2 was saved by shortening over 300 routes. Virgin Atlantic, Boeing and General Electric are powering a plane using bio- fuel. These initiatives cannot deliver all the answers, but are sparks for innovation.

According to the article, By 2010, Intra-Asia traffic will be the largest single market in the world. With size comes responsibility. Asia has an important role in building aviation's future and setting a benchmark for environmental responsibility.