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February 2001
There are several examples of the ‘stick’ (as against ‘carrot’) approach to pollution prevention and reduction. One way is taxation – eco-tax, green tax, trash tax, effluent fees, carbon tax and other such. These may be fees per unit of pollution discharged, or hazardous waste produced, or garbage generated or fossil fuel used…..Green taxes have often stimulated creative thinking in solving environmental problems, prompted by the desire to reduce costs.
After the Netherlands introduced fees for emissions of toxic metals (cadmium, lead, and mercury among others) into waterways, these reduced dramatically within the span of a decade. A trash tax per garbage bag, along with a strong recycling programme in Victoria, British Columbia, resulted in the quantity of household waste falling by 18% in just one year.
A solid waste charge in Denmark saw an impressive increase in the recycling rate for demolition waste. Germany started a packaging fee that charged manufacturers not only for packaging, but also for type of packaging – more for plastic than for glass and cardboard. The result: plastic packaging lost one-third of its market share to glass and cardboard, and four out of five German manufacturers reduced their use of packaging.
The UAE is a tax-free establishment. It came as some surprise, therefore, when a news report (Gulf News, 30 November 2000) announced a tax on planes that pollute environment imposed by the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Civil Aviation effective December 1, 2000. This surely needed some checking out, so I met Mohamed Al-Khadar, director, RAK International Airport.
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In the year 2015, aircraft will be burning 300 million tonnes of fuel, spewing pollutants, including greenhouse gases, as they transport us around the globe. By 2050 aviation fuel consumption would have escalated another 150 million tonnes with correspondingly higher emissions. As air travel grows (5% annually till 2015), aircraft pollutants will constitute a substantial source of global warming – they (together with emissions from ships), are already responsible for an estimated 10%.
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So what can be done? Air travel does not provide the individual with the options that land transport does – cycle, don’t drive; walk, don’t drive; use public transport, not your own car; join a car pool; drive a car equipped with a three-way catalytic converter; use unleaded petrol; work from home….One can’t, after all, opt for a less polluting flight! But governments can do something. And Ras Al Khaimah International Airport shows us what.
Effective December 1, 2000, the Department of Civil Aviation, Ras Al Khaimah has started levying a charge on commercial aircraft that use RAK International Airport. It is not really a tax. It is a modest ‘environment fee,’ ranging from a minimum of Dh 100 to a maximum of Dh 200 per fight, that operators must pay to compensate for the pollution – emissions, fuel spillage and noise - that their airplanes cause. It is the first such initiative to have been taken in the Middle East and the Arab world.
All aircraft pollute to some degree, even those with new engines. So the fee will apply to each one of the commercial carriers that use RAK International Airport. Among the planes exempt are – those used for humanitarian purposes, military and government planes, small and light aircraft, and flights catering to royalty and VIPs. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft (its body weight, passengers plus cargo) will determine the specific charge between Dh 100 (no less) and Dh 200 (no more).
“It’s peanuts,” says Mohamed Al-Khadar, director, RAK International Airport. “In Europe, commercial carriers are taxed $ 10,000 per flight for stage 2 aircraft.” These are older aircraft, their engines producing medium to thick smoke at the time of take off and landing. Most of the RAK airport operators use ‘stage 2’ aircraft.
Out of some 400 flights handled per month by RAK airport, an average of 150 commercial airlines fall within the chargeable category. Therefore, the monthly fee amount is expected to total Dh 15,000, at the least; Dh 180,000 per year. This money will be used to support environmental and conservation activities not only in RAK, but anywhere in the UAE.
How did this bold, pioneering move come about? Following the instruction of President Sheikh Zayed on environmental protection in the UAE, the Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah, Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi established the Environmental Protection and Industrial Development Commission (EPADIC) to design and plan the environmental programme, mainly for Ras Al Khaimah. “ We joined as a board member of EPADIC, and felt very strongly that we should contribute in a positive way. Since aircraft are a source of pollution, we thought of imposing a charge on them. RAK airport has farms all around, and this pollution has an immediate effect on the surroundings. So we devised a scheme to charge for pollution and use the money to help the community,” explains Al-Khadar.
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But will the environment fee help cut down pollution? Of course it won’t. “But it is better to get something out of it instead of just looking on with our hands tied. We will get funds and these will be used elsewhere. Every four months we will see how much money we have collected. And then we will contribute it directly for conservation activities, and also distribute it to active, trusted environmental bodies – governmental agencies, non-governmental organisations, schools, and others - in the whole of the UAE for their work; because we believe that we are part of one big family. We will be short listing the environmental organisations that may benefit from these funds,” continues Al-Khadar. Yet another advantage of the fee is that it helps prove a point to airlines whose concerns are only commercial. “We want them to open their eyes a little bit, ” he adds, implying that they should show some concern for the environment too.
And how have the airlines reacted to the fee? They - all 33 cargo and passenger operators that use RAK Airport - have been very supportive. “When we imposed the fee, we were anxious about the feedback from airlines. But we found that they were willing to pay, treating it as their contribution to the environment. The fee has not affected us commercially at all. Quite the contrary. In fact we have a new operator starting soon.”
‘Stage 2’ aircraft are the most polluting. To change these to ‘stage 3’, aircraft have to be upgraded making them less polluting. This means modification of their engines, an expensive process costing a minimum of $ 30 million per modification. In Europe, all ‘stage 2’ aircraft must change to ‘stage 3’ by 2002. Other operational aspects that impact on pollution are aircraft weight, fuel quality and aircraft maintenance. The heavier a plane, the greater its pollution at take off and landing. As far as fuel quality goes, ‘Jet A’ fuel is of much better quality than ‘Jet B.’ The first is less polluting but also considerably more expensive. So some airlines shy away from using it, opting to save money by buying the cheaper ‘Jet B.’ Then again, if aircraft maintenance is regular, pollution can be greatly reduced. RAK has two maintenance bases for Russian and Central African aircraft that constitute 80% of its operators. But it has no maintenance bases for European and American aircraft, facilities for which are available in Abu Dhabi.
Does Al-Khadar personally feel strongly about the whole issue of pollution? Of course, but he is not alone. “Our Chairman, Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi is very active in this area.” The environment fee to be borne by aircraft operators may be small, but it is a significant initiative that sends a message out – we care. The fee will add up to provide sufficient funding for conservation activities. Will other airports also implement such a fee? “ It will happen, eventually. As for us, we will be a little bit ahead! Ours is a small airport and I want to confirm that the fee has not affected us commercially,” says Al-Khadar as he motivates other emirates to follow suit. “We encourage airports in the UAE to take up the initiative. Let us be different from others in the Middle East.”
CRANES
An ordinary village named Khichan in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan state, India, witnesses, what has got to be, one of the grandest avian spectacles in the world. When thousands of demoiselle cranes alight here each winter, in an emotional display of bird love, villagers congregate to greet them with containers full of grains. They tend, protect and feed them each day of their stay in the village.
Cranes may be hunted in some parts, poisoned with pesticides in others; their wetland habitats drained in many places and grassland habitats converted to agriculture in still more. But in Khichan these winter visitors are welcomed, even revered. It is a tradition.
Cranes, they say, never had it so good at their breeding grounds back home, or at any other wintering sites in Africa, India or China. It is no wonder that the size of Khichan’s crane population keeps swelling every year.
Each morning the villagers lay out grains in feed lots. And cranes flock, sitting on rooftops, in water holes, fields, and sand dunes, each group waiting its turn to feed, the feasting process continuing for two hours; and then once again in the afternoon.
The birds are protected and left undisturbed. Perhaps at no other place in the world have cranes developed such a bonding with humans as here.
Khichan’s community comprises Jains, renowned for their non-violent vegetarianism. They have formed a Trust fund – the Malu Charitable Trust – to care for the demoiselle cranes. The Trust spends as much as INR 600,000 (Dh 60,000) on bird feed alone, during the entire period that the birds visit.
(Excerpted from Down to Earth, January 15, 2001, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi)
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WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?
Save energy and reduce outdoor pollution. Cut down our use of fossil fuels by driving a car that gets at least 15 km per litre (56 km per gallon). And consider joining a car pool.
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