CFM’S LEAP LEADS THE WAY

AIRCRAFT ENGINES PRODUCE EMISSIONS

that are similar to other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion. However, aircraft emissions are unusual in that a significant proportion is emitted at altitude. These emissions give rise to serious environmental concerns regarding their global impact and their effect on local air quality at ground level. A comprehensive assessment concerning aviation’s contribution to global atmospheric problems is contained in the Special Report on Aviation and the Global Atmosphere which was prepared at the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) request by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in collaboration with the Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and was published in 1999.

The report among other things mentioned:

- spheric concentration of greenhouse gases, trigger the formation of condensation trails and may increase cirrus cloudiness, all of which contribute to climate change. cent of the total radiative forcing (a measure of change in climate) by all human activities and that this percentage, which excludes the effects of possible changes in cirrus clouds, was projected to grow. The report recognised that the effects of some types of aircraft emissions are well understood and revealed that the effects of others are not. It identified a number of key areas of scientific uncertainty that limit the ability to project aviation impacts on climate and ozone.

Against this background, the ICAO Assembly in 2001 urged nations to promote scientific research aimed at addressing the uncertainties identified in this report and requested the council to continue to cooperate closely with the IPCC and other organisations involved in the definition of aviation’s contribution to environmental problems in the atmosphere and the need to take initiatives for a scientific understanding of the problems. This was reiterated by the Assembly in 2007. ICAO requested the IPCC to include an update of the main findings of the 1999 report in its Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) published in 2007.

The new findings related to aviation emissions in IPCC AR4 are inter alia: data estimates of the climate effects of contrails have been

- ute about three per cent of the total of the anthropogenic radiative forcing by all human activities.

aviation emissions is approximately two per cent of the global greenhouse emissions.

emissions from aviation is expected to grow at around three to four per cent per year.

emissions from the aviation sector can potentially come from improved fuel efficiency. However, such improvements are expected to only partially offset the growth of CO2 aviation emissions. In the past, ICAO’s policy-making to address the environmental impact of aircraft engine emissions focused primarily on the ground level effects. In recent years, the scope has been expanded to include the global impact of aircraft engine emissions. Although air travel remains one of the most environmentally efficient modes of travel as measured by passenger miles per gallon of fuel, there are many environmental challenges in developing new engines. Emissions of CO2 and NOx and aircraft noise must be reduced to meet the world’s expectation for constant improvement in these areas. CFM International’s LEAP lower CO2 per cent reduction in the noise footprint.

With fuel costs accounting for a larger part of single-aisle aircraft operating costs, it is no surprise airlines are adding more fuel-efficient aircraft to their fleets. CFM’s all-new LEAP engine LEAP’s high bypass ratio architecture, lightweight composite rejection system, compressor efficiency and high thermal efficiency turbine materials are products of CFM’s proven technology experience and new technology development.