Climate Action 100+: Net Zero Strategy for the Aviation Sector
10 March 2022
Climate Action 100+ (CA100+): Net Zero Strategy for the Aviation Sector
Robert Black and Dr Rory Sullivan
Climate Action 100+ has released its updated sector strategy for aviation. https://www.climateaction100.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CA100_Aviation_Sector_Strategy_Final_March2022.pdf
The report, which was drafted by Chronos, maps out how the industry can align with the 1.5°C pathway set out by IEA and outlines the actions that investors should take to accelerate the sector’s transition to net zero.
The industry is responsible for about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. The decarbonisation of the aviation sector is, therefore, critical if global warming must be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) analysis of the aviation sector points to important role that investors can play in pressing and supporting aviation companies to set out and implement robust 1.5°C-aligned transition plans. CA100+ identifies three areas that require particular focus:
1. The need for a massive scale-up of sustainable aviation fuels: Under the IEA 1.5°C scenario, SAF will need to represent 16% of the aviation sector’s energy consumption by 2030. Given that in 2020, SAF met less than 0.1% of the sector’s overall fuel demand, this will clearly be no easy task. One of the important considerations in this is ensuring that this scale up does not – as we have seen, for example, with palm oil plantations – result in significant adverse social or environmental impacts.
2. The need for action on the demand side: The reality is that air traffic cannot keep increasing if the world is to limit global temperature rise to safe levels. The IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 scenario shows that even if all other decarbonisation measures in the aviation sector are maximised, some demand management will be needed to keep 1.5°C within reach. Countries such as France are already taking measures to ban some domestic flight routes which can be completed by train, and many people are seeking to travel in a more sustainable way..
3. Ensuring that airlines focus on emissions reductions and not rely on carbon offsetting to deliver their targets: Carbon offsetting has been a core part of aviation companies’ decarbonisation strategies to date. However, given the huge emissions reductions needed for the global transition to net zero, aviation companies cannot rely on carbon offsetting to get to 1.5°C, and need to ensure that their primary focus is on reducing emissions from their own operations.