The world’s largest association of airlines on Monday said that it is aiming for the air transport industry to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while acknowledging that it will be a “huge challenge.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has key offices in Geneva, said its general meeting in Boston had agreed on the target, a commitment that would line it up with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming under 1.5°C above pre-industrial times.
The industry appears to be counting heavily on a carbon-offset plan laid out by a UN organization on civil aviation, but suggests governments have a role to play, too.
Photo: Reuters
“With collective efforts of the entire value chain and supportive government policies, aviation will achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” IATA director-general Willie Walsh said in a statement.
The association said that industry can take steps through use of sustainable fuels, new airplane technologies, improved efficiencies and new power sources such as electric or hydrogen power — but carbon capture and carbon-offset programs would also have a role.
One scenario foresees sustainable fuels accounting for nearly two-thirds of the roughly 1.8 gigatons of carbon that would need to be mitigated for airlines to reach net-zero emissions, Walsh said.
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