MALAYSIA GEARS UP FOR GREEN SKIES WITH CARBON LEVY - EXPERT

By S.Kisho Kumari

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia gears up for green skies once the carbon levy collection by the airlines comes into effect as soon as the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) makes the necessary review, said Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology economist (aviation and aerospace) Assoc Prof Major Dr Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian said.

Although Putrajaya is making it optional for both local or international carriers flying in and out of Kuala Lumpur, it is nevertheless a timely move towards environmental responsibility in air travel, he said.

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Transport Minister, Anthony Loke recently said that the carbon levy can be imposed once MAVCOM  makes the necessary amendments to the MAVCOM (Code of Conduct) Regulations 2018.

Speaking to Bernama recently, Mohd Harridon said the carbon levy is a good strategy for Malaysia’s overall carbon footprint reduction through a linear progression by the year 2050.

It is to be noted that the carbon levy imposed by the airlines is to offset their carbon emissions and is an international obligation applicable to all airlines, not only in Malaysia, to contribute towards the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

Denmark, Sweden, South Africa and the Netherlands are among the countries that have imposed carbon levies upon passengers.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the value of levy that was imposed by certain airlines was in accordance with the distance that was transversed by the aircraft.

As the distance increases, the levy increases as well, and the value of the levy also deviates from one country to another.  

For example, in Norway, for international flights, a levy of US$29.70 is imposed upon all passengers, while US$2.20 is imposed for local and international flights in Portugal. 

Closer to home, Singapore will impose a green fuel levy on flights from 2026.

The airlines can either use the levy to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or pay credit to offset their carbon emission, explained Mohd Harridon.

SAF is recognised globally as the most feasible option to reduce aviation emissions in the near term. 

It also gives another avenue for Malaysia to develop its industry around it, he said.

“The development of SAF requires efforts in terms of transforming biomass into usable aviation fuel and these efforts include technology development and application, human resources of experts and development of centralised plant,” he said. 

He further said that it is remunerative to the country as it would create more job opportunities within this realm, increase the economic stature of the country, and impart technology transfer as it is more optimum to develop Malaysia’s own SAF instead of importing from other countries. 

“There have been pilot studies or initiatives conducted by Malaysia Airlines and Firefly Airlines in the years 2021 and 2022, respectively, where several flights of these airlines utilised SAF and the results were favourable,” he added. 

Based on IATA’s recent fact sheet, global SAF production has tripled to 600 million litres from 300 million litres in 2022, representing 0.2 per cent of global jet fuel use in 2023. 

It also said the aviation sector will meet the Paris Agreement goals of reducing global warming to less than two degrees under IATA 2050 emissions reduction targets.

As for overall ticket prices, he said there would be an increase and a cause for concern for consumers as air travel is a vital mode of transportation be it for leisure or business trips.

But any kneejerk reaction would be temporary, he said. 

 “This is based upon evidence of the behaviour of consumers where initial resistance would occur but after a prolonged period acceptance begins to creep in and the new fares are perceptually normalised as nominal value,” he opined. 

-- BERNAMA