Members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) will for the first time submit seasonal fuel consumption data to the Association’s secretariat as part of a pledge to create a climate change strategy for Antarctic tourism.
The fuel data submission, which will include vessels of all sizes, aircraft, and accessory vehicles, will be used within the responsible tourism association to understand the greenhouse gas footprint of IAATO operations in Antarctica.
The results will then be used internally as the basis to monitor and refine emission reduction targets the IAATO membership has collectively agreed to make. While individual operators are expected and encouraged to go further in their own targets,
IAATO operators have also pledged to track the IMO target of at least 50% emissions reductions by 2050 compared with 2008 and global goals of net zero before 2050. This, accompanied by an agreement by each member to build their own climate strategy and set their own emission reduction targets, is the start of a collective push to account for and reduce IAATO-Operator emissions.
Pam Le Noury, Chair of IAATO’s Climate Change Committee, said on the occasion:
We seek to go much further towards net positive impact, but the current challenge in shipping and aviation is that we don’t yet know what future fuels and technologies will be available to us
The 2022/23 Antarctic season will be the first season in which IAATO will aggregate Operator fuel data.
As for Amanda Lynnes, IAATO Director of Environment & Science Coordination, she added that “one of IAATO’s strengths is the ability of its diverse membership to take collective action, often over and above what is required by global regulators.”
