At the "Airbus Day 2012″ in Brussels, more than 100 members of the European Parliament, politicians and industry representatives gathered to discuss key issues concerning the European aerospace industry. Christian Scherer, Head of Airbus Strategy & Future Programmes said, "Airbus is a truly European company, proof of how Europe can succeed if we work together. Despite a difficult economic environment, this year we will invest almost two billion euros in environmental research and development. We will also be recruiting 4,000 new highly qualified employees in 2012, as well as many more in the supply chain."
"Over the last decade, aviation has grown by 45%, while fuel consumption has increased by only 3%," says Rainer Ohler, Head of Public Affairs & Communications at Airbus. "This confirms that our industry has long been on the road to respect for the environment. The European Union and governments should support this commitment, by making progress on the Single European Sky and modernizing Europe's dusty air traffic management technologies. Europe's CO2 emissions from aviation could thus be reduced by 10%."
In terms of R&D, Airbus is concentrating its efforts on reducing noise and gas emissions, and is fully committed to achieving the aviation industry's goals of reducing fuel consumption by an average of 1.5% per year by 2020, capping net carbon emissions from 2020 onwards, and making every effort to reach the ambitious target of reducing these emissions by 50% by 2050, compared with 2005 levels.
Learn more: www.airbus.fr