On Feb. 25, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani cautioned Asian aviation officials not to repeat the "mistakes" made in Europe regarding environmental politics and pushed the region to take a regulatory stance on aircraft emissions more sensible than the EU's "single-minded" agenda.

Speaking at the Greener Skies for Asia 2008 conference in Hong Kong, Bisignani called on the region to take a global leadership role on an issue on which he believes other regions have fallen short. Last week in Singapore, he urged Asian leadership on traffic rights liberalization.

"By 2010, Asia will be the largest single market for aviation," he said in Hong Kong. "With size comes leadership responsibility." He said Asian airlines need to speak more loudly and coherently than their European counterparts. "Asia must avoid the mistakes we made in Europe by communicating clearly aviation's good track record on the environment, as well as a relevant and clear vision to governments and the general public," he said.

Noting that the average age of Asian airlines' fleets is 9.8 years, lower than the worldwide average of 11.8 years, he said, "The region has a head start with a modern fleet. Now we must drive improvements in air traffic management by harmonizing across the region and maximizing the capabilities of modern aircraft to set a benchmark of efficiency for others to follow ... Governments must also play a role in driving this further with coordinated basic research into future technology, including alternative fuels ... Asia's enormous sovereign wealth funds could make an important contribution."

Bisignani said Europe has become a "problem child" and called the EU's effort to "unilaterally" impose emissions trading while not implementing a streamlined ATC system a "farce."

"Europe was more interested in politics than facts," he said. "A Single European Sky would save 12 million tonnes of CO2 and EUR2-EUR3 billion (US$3-US$4.4 billion) and make travelers happy with shorter trips and reduced delays. But a Single European Sky is tied up in 15 years of talks and political hot air. By comparison emissions trading has a timetable of less than five years ... Politicians and governments want to paint themselves green. Results for the environment are of little interest."