LIGHTWEIGHTING
The global aviation industry has adopted the goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050
DECODING NET ZERO AVIATION
A panel of experts discuss the current landscape and future trajectory of net zero aviation in the UK
W
hile aviation helps connect people, cultures and businesses around the world and holds
great importance in keeping the global economy afl oat, it is also one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that aviation is responsible for approximately 2.5% of all human- produced CO2
emissions – such a stat
has prompted the industry to meet net zero goals by 2050. But how can the industry execute
these goals? Many companies across the aviation value chain have set
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goals to be completed over the long term, but there are actions they can take today to help accomplish these objectives. Such advice was echoed by a panel of climate change and technology experts during a keynote session at this year’s Decarbonising Transport Week conference.
EFFECTIVE APPROACHES During the roundtable, Dr Kim Yates, chair of the Climate Change Advocacy Group at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, shared some of the challenges within the aviation sector, not only in the planes
themselves but also within airports and in supporting infrastructure. “What we are seeing across the
board, especially since Covid, is that there has been a resurgence in the aviation industry. The more planes that fl y, the more greenhouse gas emissions are going to go up, exacerbating climate change, unless something is done about it,” Yates explained. “Although 95% of emissions are
associated with the planes themselves, there is a lot the airports can do in terms of getting people to and from the airport, energy consumption at the airport itself, and new construction projects on the go.” Yates stresses that to get to net zero,
it is all about planned decarbonisation, looking at what you can infl uence and what you can control, but the vast
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