SESAR’s environmental objectives


SESAR is targeting a significant enhancement of the European air traffic management system to minimise the following environmental impacts: noise and local air quality at and around airports as well as climate change, which is driven by the release of emissions from aircraft fuel burn. In order to achieve this, SESAR brings together actors from all parts of the aviation industry - regulators, air navigation service providers, aircraft operators, airport operators, research institutions and the manufacturing industry - to encourage collaboration and to identify and deliver new environmentally acceptable solutions.

The following high level SESAR targets have been established

 

  • By implementing the SESAR concept in 2020, ATM-related CO2 emissions should be reduced by 10% per flight (against a 2005 baseline);
  • Improve the management of noise emissions and their impacts through better flight paths, or optimised climb and descent solutions;
  • Improve the role of ATM in enforcing local environmental rules by ensuring that flight operations fully comply with aircraft type restrictions, night movement bans, noise routes, noise quotas, etc.
Target 2020

In pursuit of this target the SESAR programme will:

  • evaluate the current environmental performance of the European air transport system against that of 2005;
  • validate technical and operational work packages addressing SESAR environmental issues;
  • put in place a methodology and supporting applications to track the programme’s environmental performance;
  • define action plans for the deployment of technical and operational work packages providing environmental benefits;
  • engage all SESAR partners and communicate to them the need to put environmental performance at the core of their projects and continuously seek to deliver safe, efficient and capacity-enhancing ATM solutions with environmental benefits;
  • maintain a full and clear understanding of the evolving European legal and regulatory environmental requirements affecting aviation and ensure compliance with these;
  • make available environmental training and awareness material to all SESAR members, tailored to their needs;
  • implement a strategy to ensure that the programme’s environmental activities are appropriately communicated to its stakeholders.