Airlines Need a Tail Wind to Decarbonize
Recently, I attended a webinar about the ever pressing need to decarbonize the air transport industry – and we need to do so fast! Pierpaolo Cazzola of the International
Transport Forum (ITF), an intergovernmental think tank, was presenting the organization’s recent findings and recommendations in anticipation of upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conferences.
In the report “Decarbonizing Air Transport,” findings show a tough road ahead for managers charged with cutting emissions in the airline industry. To set the stage for this challenging task, we need to recognize that, before COVID-19, 2.5% of the world’s emissions were from fuels consumed in air transportation.
These emissions grew even with substantial engine and airplane design advances over the last decades. Increasing market demands simply made air traffic grow at a rate far outp
acing the efficiencies of better designs! The report predicts that this high rate of growth will continue once the pandemic is behind us. So how are we to deal with the dilemma of growth and pollution?
Surprise! It will take private and public sectors working together. What actions are on the horizon? Below are some recommendations put forward by ITF.
COVID-19 recovery plans should be tied to decarbonization requirements
Airlines have been hammered by the pandemic and some have even gone out of busine
ss. In our region alone, several are having serious financial troubles due to the tremendous reduction in passenger travel.
For example, Virgin Australia and Air Mauritius have both applied for voluntary administration. Thai Airways is restructuring through bankruptcy court. Many more have simply lost so much business that it is only through government intervention that they manage to keep the lights on.
Therefore it only makes sense that, as government monies continue to pour into airlines, there should be decarbonization requirements linked to the investments. For example, airlines must establish clear long-term visions to set, monitor, and reduce emis
sions and these targets should be aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. Airlines like to think eliminating carbon does not apply to them, and this requirement should change that attitude.
Establish fuel quality standards to encourage SAF use
Governments should also require timely and ambitious fuel quality standards be put in place to encourage the use of sustainable aviation fuels. This is a relatively easy requ
irement to set as it can be easily audited.
Establishing international targets to create an even playing field
A
ccording to ITF, flights over 8,000 kilometers, many of which are international flights, account for 20% of all emissions. Unfortunately, international flights are seldom regulated for their fuel efficiencies and emissions because governing bodies tend to regulate only flights that traverse within their borders. As an international body, ICAO can help governments establish international fuel efficiency and emission targets. Not only will this create an even international playing field, it will also require international flights to adhere to the same requirements as domestic flights.
Government support for R&D is key
Finally, researchers, as well as others in the industry, recognize that increased use of SAF, carbon taxing, and better fuel efficiency will not ultimately clean up all the carbon. This is why governm
ent support for R&D in carbon-free aircraft or more scalable SAF alternatives are the only sure way to get CO2 out of air transport by 2050.
Innovation on that level is not impossible – humanity has done it before. For the air transport industry, it may be the most important initiative of all, because if it cannot compete with other transportation modes in emissions reduction, it may simply lose its business – one customer at a time.
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