The European Commission’s research team has launched a Clean Sky programme to reduce the environmental impact of air transport.

Clean Sky, one of Europe’s largest research programmes, has been launched with a budget of €1.6 billion (around £1.2bn) to be used to tackle the environmental impact of air transport.

With a current membership of around 86 organisations from 16 countries, the programme is committed to developing “breakthrough technologies” with which to reduce the noise and gaseous emissions of aircraft, whilst improving fuel economy.

Åke Svensson, ASD President and CEO of SAAB, welcomed the formal launch of Clean Sky and said: “Clean Sky will address two simple questions: How we fly and what we fly. The carbon footprint aviation leaves behind is seen as not being acceptable and Clean Sky is an excellent way of addressing the challenges we face in developing more sustainable aviation.”

The research programme, which was formally adopted by the European Parliament’s Council of Ministers in December 2007, will be carried out over seven years from 2008 to 2014.

Chairman of the Clean Sky Provisional Executive Committee (PEC), Marc Ventre, praised the efforts of the aerospace industry over the last few decades, but realised that more needs to be done. He commented: “Today, with traffic expected to keep growing, Clean Sky is paving the way for a new major step in this ongoing process. We are fully committed to meeting these very ambitious goals.”

Clean Sky will accelerate the achievement of the goals set by the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE), by funding the development of new technologies and shortening the timescales in bringing them to market.