By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Air New Zealand Drops 2030 Emission Reduction Goal
Air New Zealand is dropping its target to cut carbon emissions by 2030 due to the challenges of replacing aircraft and sourcing sustainable jet fuel. This move places Air New Zealand as the first major carrier to back down over such a climate goal.
Although the company has dropped the 2030 target, Air New Zealand confirmed that it was working on a new short term target while standing by the industry's more general ambition of net zero emissions by 2050. Aviation accounts for about 2% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. As part of offsetting this impact, airlines have taken measures to phase out older aircraft and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, starting to move toward renewable fuel sources.
Its Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said in the statement: "In recent months, and more so in the last few weeks, it has also become apparent that potential delays to our fleet renewal plan pose an additional risk to the target's achievability." The carrier had previously set a target to slash emissions by nearly 29% by 2030, well above the global industry goal of 5% reduction over the same time frame.
One of the large factors in the aviation industry's strategy to reduce emissions has been the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels. However, airlines have not been able to secure enough SAF. Cirium, an aviation analytics company, expressed, "The price of it is more expensive than traditional fuels, and there is not enough capacity to produce that at scale," Ellis Taylor said.
IATA stated that the emission reducing goal of the industry still remains "net zero by 2050" and that airlines are surely not stepping back from this commitment. The association said that it requires supportive actions on the part of governments to scale up SAF output and to explore new technological solutions such as hydrogen and carbon removals.
Delays in delivering new aircraft further beset the aviation sector. Both Boeing and Airbus have delivered fewer new jets than they make in recent years as supply chains have become awry. Boeing has had a host of particular issues. This month Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the US discovered the planemaker broke a reform deal that followed two fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes, which killed 346 passengers and crew. Further pressure was added to Boeing as a door panel from a Boeing plane flying for Alaska Airlines blew out not long after takeoff and was subsequently compelled to land.
The above are a few of the higher implications of these factors: meeting ambitious climate targets in a sector like aviation is difficult. However, the adherence to long term goals, as stated, net zero by 2050, remains at the heart of the industry finding its way out of all these challenges.
