The government wants information on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of all airlines flying in Indian skies and the combined carbon footprint of the fliers.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to commission a study to verify claims by aircraft and airlines running them that their CO2 emission is on the decline, and thus contributing to mitigating climate change.

“We will employ an expert agency to do the analysis,” Naseem Zaidi, the director-general of civil aviation, said on Friday.

“We will take 2005 as the base year and see how much is the real difference in carbon emission by all aircraft. The study will bring out the exact nature and quantity of CO2 emission in the sector,” he told Hindustan Times.

Globally, the aviation sector is responsible for 2 to 6 per cent of total carbon emissions, according to separate estimates by the industry and United Nations studies. But India’s climate change plans do not take adequate account of the sector.

Zaidi was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar where the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the biggest worldwide body of airlines and aircraft makers.

The association said it would be certifying the technology of flying planes with a blend of bio-fuel and jet fuel, reducing aircrafts’ carbon emission by up to 80 per cent.

Giovani Bisignani, the director general and CEO of IATA said: “Tests in 2008 and 2009 have shown that this technology works. It will be certified soon. We have set a target of using 10 per cent alternative fuel by 2017.”

Jatropha, algae and camelina are known biofuels, which are being tried for the best results.