According to IATA, the aviation industry can reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The International Air Transport Association has published its updated Policy and Finance Net Zero Roadmaps, detailing the route the aviation sector needs to take to achieve this ambitious goal. According to IATA, however, the timeframe for ambitious action from policymakers and the industry is rapidly running out, and there needs to be urgent progress toward a successful energy transition.
Achieving Net Zero by 2050
The IATA sees the decarbonization of aviation as feasible by 2050. That will take united action, and policymakers will have key support elements in the course of that transition. Investment into achieving the goal is akin to investments seen in renewable energy sectors, like those for solar and wind energy, over two decades.
According to IATA, even though high investment would be required, manageable if the stakeholders align to facilitate the transition, especially at the edge of SAF, new technology, and infrastructure development. The roadmaps suggest that joint efforts between industries like agriculture and energy will be essential to winning the battle.
Four Key Points
IATA has presented four key points regarding the aviation industry’s transition into net zero:
Aviation Energy Transition Can Be Finished by 2050: The chance of achieving net zero by 2050 is there if stakeholder’s step up their game and get into urgent collaboration.
Levels of Investment Similar to Renewable Energy Markets Level of investment required for the transition of aviation is like the one seen within renewable energy markets for solar and wind.
Policymakers Must Lead: Governments will form the very heart of aviations transition framework. Their input is necessary for creating the needed change and investment.
Collaboration is Important, and Time is Running Out: The window of opportunity for acting on the transition in energy is closing rapidly, and urgent action is necessary before falling even further behind in the curve of time.
Desperate Need for Collaboration and Clear Policy
He reminded the policymaker, the aviation community, and the others that this decarbonization journey requires urgency. The IATA policy roadmap underpins the need for sequencing of policies as well as global cooperation. Tailor-made policies for every country or region, this is it – to bring everything together into a single goal: reduce carbon emissions.
Key actions will be taken on both sides of the track. First, eligible emissions units under CORSIA need to be unlocked and SAF boosted to the top of the list of refinery outputs. Critical to that is the development of a transparent and liquid global market for cleaner aviation energy.
The Role of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
A major chunk of the future energy transition for aviation is based on SAF, which is cleaner compared to traditional jet fuels. According to the Policy Roadmap, a strong global market for SAF needs to be achieved in order to meet the target for 2050. Cooperation among governments, businesses, and the aviation industry with a willingness to tear down barriers is the need of the hour to invest in new technologies and infrastructure related to SAF. An important recommendation refers to the development of a global SAF accounting framework to avoid double counting of environmental benefits, which is one of the main issues with several currently available SAF and carbon offset certifications.
Financial Investment for Net Zero
Additional to the Policy Roadmap, IATA has released its Finance Roadmap detailing the investment requirements needed to meet the 2050 net-zero emissions target. The published finance roadmap projects that achieving the target will require a mean annual investment of USD 128 billion for 30 years. This amount is less than the USD 280 billion spent annually in solar and wind energy between 2004 and 2022. This shows that though the cost is astronomical, it is still achievable.
Transition Costs and Economic Impact
The greatest challenge that perhaps needs most to be addressed is the rapid hike in the price of SAF, hydrogen, and other key resources being used for the energy transition. The costs will add on to the jet fuel cost in total. Transition costs are expected to reach USD 1.4 billion by 2025 and could rise to USD 744 billion by 2050.
Still, according to IATA’s Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen, “there is tremendous scope”. “The energy transition will unlock new industries, and stimulate growth in agriculture and energy,” she said. However, she also warned, “this transition will only be successful when all the stakeholders including governments, investors, multilateral organizations, and of course, the aviation industry work together”.
Diverting Subsidies and Infrastructural Support
Other often-recommended action items on the Finance Roadmap would be to divest government subsidies from fossil fuels into renewable energy projects, such as SAF production, to accelerate the transition. The roadmap further contains building of new biorefineries, which will assist not only aviation but also support the general energy transition for all sectors.
Thomsen repeated, “Both financial and technical obstacles to the decarbonization of aviation are enormous, but the benefits are even greater. If a designed sustainable transition could be made simultaneously grow the aviation business and support this global struggle against climate change, then what has here been described as probably difficult political acceptance and then regulation will seem easy by comparison.”
Conclusion
The new IATA Policy and Finance Net Zero Roadmaps provide a clear pathway for the aviation industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. These clearly state that urgent and on-the-ground action, cooperation, and finance are needed with a strong policy framework.
As the window of action is closing, IATA appeals to all stakeholders to come together and act decisively now so that, for the first time, aviation can contribute to a sustainable future. For this collaboration, things would turn out differently because it will be a time when the very possible growth ambitions of the aviation sector would be aligned with the global environmental goals.
Source: The International Air Transport Association