Commission President

Port of Seattle

This year, the Seattle Port Commission made environmental stewardship one of its top priorities. Following our direction, the Port's CEO Tay Yoshitani has set the goal for the Port of Seattle to be among the "greenest, cleanest and most energy efficient" ports in the country.

The Commission believes that the Port - in order to fulfill our responsibilities as a public agency and to be a good neighbor to the communities we serve - must continue to be a leader in environmental stewardship, including at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Air cargo and passenger transport performs many important functions in our modern society and is a significant source of employment and growth in our region.

We are projecting that approximately 30 million passengers and 315,000 metric tons of cargo will pass through Sea-Tac International Airport in 2007. We expect similar numbers next year, and we are set to grow.

Sea-Tac already has a significant track record in environmental stewardship. Just a few examples include: switching all of the airport's shuttle buses, taxis and key heavy duty equipment to be powered by compressed natural gas; reducing energy consumption by 25% per square foot through lighting retrofits; and implementing strong recycling program, through which we recycle around 1,250 tons of material every year.

The Commission recently authorized a $10 million project to equip all gates with electrical plug-ins for aircraft, which will reduce the idling of aircraft engines.

Although noise concerns have previously been the greatest environmental constraint to aviation's growth, the world is becoming increasingly aware of the impact of carbon emissions on air quality and climate change. Last month, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its finding that global warming is "unequivocal."

Aircraft emissions are a small percentage of overall global carbon emissions and there have been significant improvements in aircraft technology and operational efficiency over the past several decades. Yet we will need to do much more to address aircraft emissions as air cargo and passenger traffic increase significantly in the decades to come.

Aircraft emissions affect air quality and climate change in three primary ways, each of which is expected to increase in concern as aviation grows:

From the burning of fossil fuels, aircraft produce about three percent (3%) of annual global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas.

At high altitudes - 25,000 to 50,000 feet - nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions can affect the production of ozone and the concentration of methane, both potent greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere.

Emissions of aerosol and particulate matter (e.g., sulfur, soot) at high altitudes can increase incidences of cirrus clouds and the persistence of contrails, which are suspected of producing high altitude cirrus clouds that adversely affect the Earth's climate.

Aircraft emissions are regulated at the federal level. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates operational standards for aircraft engines and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates permissible levels of aircraft emissions.

Still, there are steps that the Port can take at the local level to help address the impact of aircraft emissions on our local air quality and on global climate change.

Soon Port staff will present to the Commission the results of Sea-Tac Airport's greenhouse gas inventory, the first of its kind in the country. With the results of the inventory in hand, we will be better able to target Port projects to reduce the impact of airport operations on local communities, as well as work with the federal government and the airlines to push forward the most effective initiatives to reduce emissions.

The Commission supports our CEO's efforts to develop a public awareness program which will allow airport travelers to use the Port's website to assess the carbon footprint of their next flight and purchase carbon offsets.

We support upgrades in our nation's air traffic control system that would allow aircraft to fly more direct routes and use less fuel. The Commission urges Congress to quickly pass the legislation currently before it to authorize these upgrades.

And, we request the FAA to accelerate review of operational changes to reduce emissions, such as continuous descent approach techniques, that could be adopted at Sea-Tac Airport with emissions savings of as much as one-half ton of CO2 per landing.

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