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, warned leading airline association Iata 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 with 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 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 3 per cent of global carbon dioxide 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 at below US$65 as a result of Mr Trump’s tariffs, his call to “drill baby drill”, and especially a decision by Opec+ to hike crude output quotas.

This represents an immediate boon for airlines, whose fuel costs represent between a quarter and a third of operating expenses.

SAF is seen as a crucial ingredient in hitting emissions targets. The biofuel produces lower carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel and is made from plant and animal materials such as cooking oil and fat.

EU rules require carriers to include 2 per cent of SAF in their fuel mix starting in 2025, rising to 6 per cent in 2030, before soaring to 70 per cent from 2050.

Dr Owens Thomsen estimated on June 1 that US$4.7 trillion (S$6 trillion) in investment is needed to establish SAF sectors capable of meeting the needs of air transport by 2050.

“It is entirely achievable,” she said, adding that the raw materials and technology already exist and simply need to be developed.

“The money involved is very comparable to the money that was involved in creating the previous new energy markets, notably obviously wind and solar,” she said.

That money could be found just by stopping subsidies to oil producers, she said.

“The world is subsidising large oil companies to the height of US$1 trillion per year,” she said.

“With that money, if it were redirected in its totality, we could solve our energy transition in less than five years.”

Iata also indicated on June 1 that it expects global SAF production to double in 2025, compared with in 2024, to 2.5 billion litres – slightly down from its previous projections of 2.7 billion litres.

Iata director-general Willie Walsh said: “This represents only 0.7 per cent of total aviation needs.” AFP