Carbon Coalition

The Air Force has begun to work with the French and British air forces to cooperate on incorporating alternative aviation fuels into their respective fleets and to learn from each other how to be more efficient and environmentally friendly consumers of energy, in general, USAF’s point man for energy issues said April 15. “We are at the very preliminary stages of doing this,” William C. Anderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force of installations, environment, and logistics, told the Daily Report after an Air Force-sponsored presentation on Capitol Hill on the service’s renewable and alternative energy initiatives. There is “great enthusiasm from all three air chiefs.” During his presentation, Anderson said the impetus for the initiative was the belief of Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff, and his British and French air chief counterparts that “coalition and allied air forces around the world could make a significant impact into the energy and environmental debate” and draw in other military organizations. “We need to talk about energy and fuels that we all can use because we work in an environment where we are flying together,” he said. Officials from the three air forces first came together for this purpose last fall in Washington, D.C. The next meeting is planned in early June in Paris to develop a position paper that the French and UK air chiefs will present during a meeting of the European air chiefs in August, Anderson said. “This is inclusive,” he told the Daily Report. “We want a lot of air forces involved.” In addition to the two European partners, “Japan wants to join” and Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are interested, Anderson said during his talk.