UK aviation industry pledges to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050

Executives in the UK aviation industry have backed plans to cut net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, in line with the UK Government targets while also accommodating 70% growth in passenger numbers.

Members of the Sustainable Aviation coalition, which includes most major airlines and airports, as well as aerospace manufacturers, will sign a commitment to reach net zero by 2050 at an event with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP in Central London.

Sustainable Aviation also published on Tuesday a report called “Decarbonisation Road-Map: A Path to Net Zero” which sets out exactly where reductions can come from, including through smarter flight operations, new aircraft and engine technology, modernising UK airspace, the use of sustainable aviation fuels, and high-quality market-based policy measures.

If the plan is followed, the UK will not only manage to reduce the carbon emissions, it will also be able to grow passenger numbers by 70%.

Neil Robinson, Chair of Sustainable Aviation, said: “The UK is well positioned to become one of the leaders in the green technologies of the future, including sustainable aviation fuels and electric flight, creating highly-skilled and well-paid jobs in the process, and we look forward to working in partnership with Ministers to help realise these opportunities.”

The Secretary of State for Transport, added:“Aviation has a crucial role to play in reducing carbon emissions, and with the help of new technologies, renewable fuels and our continued international co-operation through the UN agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, we’ll be able to strike that balance, creating a greener and cleaner future.”

Yet according to The Guardian, Greenpeace dismissed the plan as “greenwash”.

John Sauven, its UK executive director, said: “This whole strategy is a flight of fancy. Carbon offsetting is simply an excuse to carry on with business as usual while shifting the responsibility to cut emissions to someone else, somewhere else, and some other time. It’s greenwash pure and simple and ministers should be wary of lending it any credibility.”