The IAGOS alliance involves fitting one of Air Canada’s Airbus A330 aircraft with specialized diagnostic sensors, enabling the collection of valuable worldwide data on climate parameters.
Air Canada, the country’s largest airline and a key player in the aviation industry has announced a groundbreaking partnership with In-Service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS), an international non-profit organization focused on utilizing commercial aircraft as a platform for climate change and air quality observations. The collaboration involves outfitting one of Air Canada’s Airbus A330 aircraft with specialized diagnostic sensors, enabling the collection of valuable worldwide data on climate parameters. This data will be crucial for essential research on climate change and air quality on a global scale.
Valerie Durand, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Sustainability, Air Canada said, “As a leading global airline, we are proud to partner with IAGOS to advance their important climate research work. Air Canada is committed to full-scale sustainability, and working with IAGOS is a meaningful way we can contribute to the collection of valuable, global data on climate parameters for further science research. The information gathered will also help provide more accurate weather data crucial for airline operations, and will enable a more in-depth understanding of changing weather dynamics.”
The partnership with IAGOS will not only benefit climate research but also provide more accurate weather data essential for airline operations. By equipping the aircraft with state-of-the-art climate research monitoring devices, Air Canada will facilitate the measurement of various parameters, including ozone, water vapor, greenhouse gases, reactive gases, aerosols, and clouds, throughout different stages of flight.
Jean-Marie Flaud, President of IAGOS-AISBL, CNRS and Ministère de L’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, France said, “We are delighted that Air Canada is the latest airline to join the IAGOS program. The measurements of greenhouse gases, reactive gases, aerosols, and clouds are crucial in the global observing system to support societal needs for a greener and more sustainable future. Air Canada will provide important new data to understand climate change issues in northern regions which are warming more than twice as fast as elsewhere, along with new data for tracking wildfire smoke plumes across the continent to improve forecasts of air quality.”
Commercial aircraft are ideal platforms for gathering trace gas measurements, particularly at high altitudes, where sample collection can be challenging. IAGOS collaborates with airlines worldwide to validate global climate models and provide near real-time data to researchers in an open-source manner. Currently, approximately 300 global organizations benefit from the research findings.
Dr. Hannah Clark, Executive Secretary, IAGOS-AISBL said, “After only a few days in operation, the aircraft has already detected exceptional levels of carbon monoxide over eastern Canada emanating from the intense wildfires in Alberta. Scientists will use these data to understand the impact of events like this on the atmosphere, on air quality, and ultimately on climate.”
Air Canada’s partnership with IAGOS aligns with the airline’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across its global operations by 2050. The company has already set midterm GHG net reduction targets by 2030 and committed $50 million to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and carbon reductions and removals research and development.
“These precise measurements of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) will be very valuable for trend and process studies, addressing Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) priorities to understand and track the origin, fate and impact of critical contaminants in the environment. IAGOS data already have an important role in ECCC research and monitoring, and the addition of an Air Canada aircraft to the IAGOS fleet will greatly increase data availability over Canada, and permit better visualization of the global movement of air pollution. This will allow us to better understand the impacts of wildfires and urban pollution, the additional impacts of climate change on these processes, and to evaluate the success of emissions reductions,” said Dr. David W. Tarasick, Senior Research Scientist, Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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By actively participating in initiatives like the collaboration with IAGOS, Air Canada solidifies its position as a leader in sustainable aviation practices. The airline’s dedication to net-zero emissions, coupled with its involvement in data collection for climate research, demonstrates its commitment to a greener and more sustainable future for the aviation industry and the planet as a whole.
