European aviation lays out flight path to net zero by 2050
A new report from a group of aviation bodies has laid out a programme for eliminating all European airlines emissions by 2050.
According to the research, which was conducted by bodies including airports group ACI Europe, emissions from flights within and departing from the European Economic Area, Britain and Switzerland can be cut to et zero within the time frame.
The groups said European aviation could cut 92 per cent of its emissions and offset the remainder using carbon removal technologies.
That’s despite the fact that passenger numbers are expected to grow 1.4 per cent a year up to 2050, notwithstanding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The authors added that the sector alone would not be able to deliver net zero, but called on the EU to support the transition.
“We need the EU to deliver the policy and regulatory framework that will enable us to deliver net zero,” Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said.
The majority of cuts would come through developing new technologies such as including hydrogen and hybrid-electric propulsion.
Aerospace engineers such as Airbus have already drawn up designs for a new generation of electric passenger planes.
A switch to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) could be itself lead to a 34 per cent reduction in emissions.
Earlier this week, British Airways announced that it would operate transatlantic flights partially powered by sustainable fuels as early as next year.
Carbon pricing policies, better air traffic management, and the impact of environmental costs on air travel demand would deliver more modest reductions, the report said.
In 2019, the sector emitted 192m tonnes of carbon dioxide.