Air transport : Cap emissions, not growth
Subhas Menon
IN AN endless endeavour to fly faster, further, and ever more fuel-efficiently, the air transport industry has repeatedly delivered on its promise, since the Wright brothers’ first flight almost 120 years ago. It bears repeating that the sector was amongst the first to zero in on sustainability, long before ‘net zero’ became a buzz phrase. The most recent gamechanger is the twin-engine ultra-long-range flight that slashes fuel consumption on transcontinental journeys by eliminating intermediate stops.
Continuous progress on fuel efficiency has been made through business-as-usual transformations in infrastructure and operations. Energy efficiency improvements from using lightweight materials on aircraft; operational changes to flight separation, planning, taxiing; as well as from the enhancement of fuselage, wing, jet engine designs; and the pivot to biodegradable inflight products, may appear mundane. Yet their contribution to carbon abatement tells a very different story, for which the industry can be very proud.
Sustainability is a key area for innovation, given the industry’s dependence on fossil fuels. Business-as-usual transformations have halved emissions from every passenger journey in the last 30 years. ICAO CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme in Aviation) and the all-industry pledge to net zero emissions, through the transition to new energy sources, have set the industry on the path to sustainable growth for the next 30 years.
Climate change is a generational challenge for which the fight began long before the search for alternative energy sources which, unfortunately, are few and far between for the aviation sector. Electricity or hydrogen-powered aircraft are a partial solution in the next 10-15 years, but are prospectively limited to flights below 1500 km. Carbon offsets are essential because they bookend the net-zero emissions strategy, by facilitating carbon-neutral growth to 2035 and abating residual emissions till 2050. For long-haul operations, the mainstay solution is sustainable aviation fuels (or SAF). However, SAF are many times more expensive than fossil fuels even at today’s prices. They also take a long time to be scaled up and fully deployed. But pitching in will put all stakeholders in a far better position. Benefits to governments will accrue from seeding a whole new industry, as well as related job and income streams.
Fuel suppliers would be able to tap the global potential of SAF. Manufacturers will profit from SAF-enabled equipment, while airlines and airports will be able to implement sustainable growth for the foreseeable future.
The next big idea is synthetic or e-fuels, a subset of SAF. Compared to bio-derived SAF, which are produced from biomass and can achieve emission reductions of up to 80 per cent over the life-cycle of carbon, e-fuels are produced from renewable electricity, hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2), and are fully carbon-neutral. The CO2 emitted by combustion is the same amount captured and used to produce synthetic e-fuel.
The growth of international air transport has made the world a better place by facilitating socio-economic connections as well as access to goods, services, jobs, education and equality. It stands to reason then that sustainable growth for the industry is about capping emissions, not capping growth.
If you want to walk fast, you walk alone. If you want to walk far, you walk together. Sustainability is a global issue to be addressed collectively and collaboratively rather than with punitive taxes or competitive distortions among regions. Aviation is in the midst of an ongoing effort to achieve an inclusive, interconnected, sustainable and technology-enabled future for air transport, which can refuel the revival of the global economy while growing sustainably.
To paraphrase Nelson Mandela, it is in our hands to make a better world for all who live in it.
The writer is director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines
