I just got back to Seattle from a trip that took me to Paris, among other places. And in Paris, as I mentioned the other day, the 62nd Annual General Meeting of IATA was underway last week. The International Air Transport Association is the largest advocacy group worldwide that looks after the interests of airlines.

And the annual meeting is always impressive. Nowhere else do you see more airline CEOs gathered in one place at one time - not even at the big air shows like Farnborough, Paris, Dubai and Singapore.

Aside from the opportunity to catch up with the industry's big movers and shakers, I got to listen to the "state-of-the-industry" address by Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of IATA. Great speech. And there were two things he talked about that struck me as right on target.

First, Giovanni sounded "wake-up calls" for our industry - from airlines and unions, to airports and fuel suppliers, government agencies, and even passengers. I won't go into all the details but you can read more here and see the full text of the speech here.

IATA's director general talked about facts vs. fairy tales in his discussion of aviation's role in the environment.

Giovanni urged a continued focus on efficiency. He also called for more fairness and simplicity in aviation costs and infrastructure. The points were very valid and worth heeding, especially in light of Boeing's ongoing transformation in terms of becoming more lean, efficient, and environmentally-friendly.

Giovanni also took some time to explode a few myths. Recently there's been a lot of rhetoric heating up, portraying airplanes and the aviation industry as enemies of the environment.

Giovanni dispelled some of this talk with facts and data.

• Myth 1: Air transport is a major cause of global warming and Greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  Fact: Air transport, which contributes 8% of GDP, contributes a small part of global CO2 emissions - 2% to be exact. The entire transport sector is responsible for 20% of CO2 emissions. Road traffic generates 80% of that, while air transport is responsible for 12%.

• Myth 2: International air transport is excluded from Kyoto and doing nothing.
  
  Fact: Domestic aviation is included in the Kyoto protocol. International air transport was excluded, with a commitment to find solutions through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) by the 2007 Assembly. In fact, the industry was concerned about the environment long before Kyoto. Fuel efficiency has improved 70% over 40 years.

• Myth 3: Aviation is the most polluting form of transportation.
  
  Fact: Modern aircraft consume 3.5 liters per 100 passenger-kilometers. This is similar to a small compact car but with 6 times the speed.

• Myth 4: Air travel is a luxury.
  
  Fact: In many ways, air travel is actually a necessity. 80% of emissions are from trips over 1,500 km, for which there is no economic alternative.

Giovanni summed up his remarks nicely, asking us to not forget "passion." As he pointed out: "We are the world's most exciting industry. We know how to deliver. So there is every reason to be confident about our future and to remove the caution from our optimism."

Good words to live by.

And speaking of living by, next year's IATA annual conference will be just up the road - in Vancouver, Canada. Practically walking distance!