SOLVING THE NET ZERO CONUNDRUM WITH SAF

The aviation industry realises that SAF is the most viable option to attain the very challenging target of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 that has been set for it

- JOSEPH NORONHA

WITH EACH PASSING DAY, THE THREAT OF IRREVERSIBLE climate change triggered by anthropogenic global warming draws nearer. And becomes scarier. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to humanity’s unbridled combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are chiefly to blame. Climate change mitigation strategies now top the agenda of practically every sector of the economy, every decision making body and every forum.

Aviation can hardly be called a major emitter, accounting for just 2.4 per cent of global CO₂ emissions. However, while other carbon-spewing industries like energy, road transport, and steel and cement manufacturing are progressively going green, air travel is incredibly difficult to decarbonise. Hence aviation’s relative share of emissions threatens to at least triple by 2050 as air traffic growth surges and other industries successfully decarbonise. At the 77th International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting in Boston in October 2021, a resolution was passed by member airlines committing them to achieving net zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050. Just a year later, in October 2022, member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also agreed to a long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) of net zero emissions from aviation by 2050. Net zero means the amount of GHG removed from the atmosphere is equal to that emitted by the human activity, in this case aviation.