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Asia-Pacific airline chiefs tackle net-zero emissions and industry restart
November 16th 2021
Leaders of the Asia-Pacific’s major airlines have called on governments to restore global connectivity and assist the industry in achieving its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Read More » The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Assembly of Presidents met last week to discuss these issues and declared a commitment to work with governments and industry partners to reach the net-zero goal and also reopen the industry. AAPA director-general, Subhas Menon, said yesterday aviation was committed to reducing its carbon footprint but was conscious of the challenges ahead. “Facilities for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are severely lacking in the Asia-Pacific compared with other regions,’’ he said. “Taxes, onerous regulations and other penalties will only increase the cost of travel without any benefit to the environment. Conversely, government incentives and investment will contribute to the effective development of sustainable fuels and new energy sources to bolster the industry’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.” The AAPA leaders repeated their calls for governments to restore global connectivity and reopen borders to swiftly reunite families and revive trade and commerce. While cargo has provided some relief to the region’s airlines, the association said this growth was not sufficient to mitigate the losses from significantly reduced commercial passenger operations. The AAPA also pointed to the economic damage affecting an industry that accounts for US$944 billion of Asia-Pacific GDP and more than 50% of the people employed in global aviation. Many communities in the region were dependent on aviation as an essential means of transportation and source of livelihood, Menon said. “AAPA applauds the efforts of governments to accelerate the vaccination of their populations and gradually ease travel restrictions,’’ he said. "It is hoped quarantine requirements will be progressively lifted with air travel made accessible to a wider segment of the population such as those recovered from COVID infections.”
