TOULOUSE: Air France-KLM has signed the Toulouse Declaration of the European Commission (EC) and Member States, currently led by the French presidency.

It joins French aerospace companies Airbus, ATR, Dassault Aviation, Groupe ADP, Safran and Thales in a commitment to sector decarbonisation by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement through aircraft technology and operational improvements, the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), market-based measures, carbon pricing, financial incentives and support to foster environmental and climate innovation.

The signatories say they want the EC to launch industrial alliances “to align the entire ecosystem around this joint ambition, particularly the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Industrial Alliance, the Alliance for Zero Emission Aviation and the European Raw Materials Alliance”.

A total of 85 European airports plus four airport associations - ADV (Germany), Airport Operators Association (UK), Assaeroporti (Italy) and UAF & FA (France) - have also endorsed the Declaration.

DHL Global Forwarding, a supporter of the EC SAF plan, is purchasing 33 million litres of SAF over three years when using Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) services.

The company expects to save over 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by blending SAF with regular aviation fuel on AFKLMP flights. Shippers will be able to select the SAF option when making a booking and the related reduction in Scope 3 emissions will be credited to their account.

This so-called 'book & claim' process offers a digital accounting system to track and transfer emissions reductions from SAF across value chains, says DHL.

Meanwhile a study by the Guardian newspaper has discovered temperatures in 499 counties across parts of the US West, Northeast and Upper Midwest are already higher than the Paris Agreement limit of +1.5C (2.7F) global warming.

Since federal records began in 1895, average temperatures in parts of California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Utah have gone up 2.4C – 2.6C, according to the newspaper’s analysis.

For airports In Miami-Dade County (MIA) FL, the 126-year increase is 1.89C; In Maricopa County (PHX) AZ, it is +2.0C; while in Queens (JFK) NY, the temperature is now +2.29C above pre-industrial levels.

The largest increase since 1970 is in Alaska where average temperatures have risen from +2.21C in the Kusilvak area to +3.7C on the state’s North Slope.

Noting the rising heat is melting Alaska’s permafrost, the Guardian quotes Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy: “If you drive on the roads near Fairbanks you better have a strong stomach because it feels like you’re riding a rollercoaster.”