Key climate target of airline decarbonisation in peril Iata

NEW DELHI - The airline industry’s flagship goal of decarbonising by 2050 is now “in peril” due to climate-sceptic policies, including those of US President Donald Trump, the leading airline association Iata warned on June 1.

The emergence of leaders favouring fossil fuels and recent regulatory rollbacks are “obviously a setback... it does imperil success on the 2050 horizon”, Dr Marie Owens Thomsen, the International Air Transport Association’s senior vice-president for sustainability, told reporters.

“But I don’t think it’s going to halt or reverse progress. I think it will just slow progress,” she said at the Iata annual industry conference in India.

Mr Trump’s Republican administration is supporting the development of fossil fuels in contrast to his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, who had massively supported the production of renewable aviation fuels through tax credits.

UN aviation agency members, from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO),have set the year 2050 as their goal for achieving net-zero carbon emissions for air travel – an industry often criticised for its outsized role in climate change.

‘Entirely achievable’

The air transportation industry has faced growing pressure to deal with its contribution to the climate crisis.

Currently responsible for 2.5 per cent to three per cent of global CO2 emissions, the sector’s switch to renewable fuels is proving difficult, even if the aeronautics industry and energy companies have been seeking progress.

To achieve net-zero emissions, airlines rely on non-fossil sources known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

However, SAF biofuels are still three to four times more expensive than petroleum-based jet fuel.

“Another problem, which is related, is the fact that oil is so cheap,” Dr Owens Thomsen said. “I think that also diminishes the sense of urgency that people have.”

A barrel of Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, stands below US$65 (S$84)