Governments not doing enough to support “greener flying” targets

June 1st 2023

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Airline leaders attending the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Istanbul earlier this month were divided about the ability of the industry to achieve its stated goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Read More »

Qatar Airways group CEO, Akbar al Baker, holds an extreme opinion. There is absolutely no chance of reaching this target he told AGM delegates. Airlines are fooling themselves if they thought they could, he added.

He may be right. He may be wrong.

In a more measured response, Air New Zealand CEO, Greg Foran, said airlines were right to set a target and have a go. In essence, it did not matter if the 2050 target was missed. If net zero was achieved in 2051, 2052, 2053 or even 2055, ultimately it will be achieved, he said.

The year 2050 is an “aspirational” target. It is not set in stone. But it is certain that if the emissions reduction numbers are not met by 2050, it will not be the fault of aviation. Airlines are spending billions of dollars on new generation fuel efficient aircraft. They are investing in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects, powering their facilities with solar energy and are decarbonizing.

Many airports are following the same path. Aircraft and engine manufacturers are investing in research to reduce the emissions of their products.

If there is a threat to the “aspirational” goal being met, it is the failure of governments to do their part.

At the 41st International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in October last year, governments endorsed aviation’s emissions reduction target and agreed to the aspirational goal of achieving that outcome by 2050.

IATA said governments, and also suppliers and financiers, can no longer stand by in this challenge. “We all have skin in the game. And each [of us] must deliver the products, policies and investments needed to decarbonize,” Walsh said.

“The problem is all of us know how impossible it is for the governments of the world to harmonize even if they have agreed a resolution.”

Some countries are doing the right thing. Other nations are hardly doing anything. There has been no major shift of fossil fuel subsidies to green energy. Certainly not to SAF, agreed to be a game changer for net zero emissions success. A proportion of the funds being invested in coal, gas and oil should be redirected to SAF.

Governments must encourage the rapid growth of SAF either by direct funding or by offering subsidies and tax breaks to attract private investment to SAF.

It is time for governments to walk their talk by investing in the infrastructure necessary to produce and deliver SAF to airports and airlines in the volumes needed to meet the industry’s net zero emissions reduction goal.

TOM BALLANTYNE
Associate editor and chief correspondent
Orient Aviation Media Group