Climate change will mean aviation will have to change, even…
Though the Dutch government lost its legal battle recently, trying to limit the number of flights using Schiphol, this was not the triumph the airlines hoped for. Airlines are scared that governments, realising the high CO2 emissions from the sector and no realistic plan to reduce them for several decades, will bring in measures to limit flights or demand for air travel. UN secretary-general António Guterres has said that the latest report by the IPCC showed a “quantum leap” in climate action was now required – and that should include aviation. The Dutch government only lost its case, on a technicality – so it may press on. The aviation sector may try to bring in restrictions itself, in the hope of avoiding more draconian measures being imposed. It is increasingly apparent that the sector’s decarbonisation road maps, largely relying on huge amounts of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), operational efficiencies and technological breakthroughs, will not deliver the “net zero” emissions target by 2050 – especially while the sector tries to grow each year. The chief executive of French airport operator Aéroports de Paris has openly admitted that demand growth has to slow for a time — at least in developed countries. .Tweet Climate crisis means aviation must change — Whether it likes it or not As sentiment shifts, the industry must engage in debate on how to temper growth BY PEGGY HOLLINGER (FT) The Dutch government lost its legal battle last week to cap flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, but that ruling was not the victory for airlines it seemed Aviation’s worst nightmare is that governments searching for quick solutions to the climate crisis might be tempted to curb demand for air travel, which accounts for roughly 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. Last month, UN secretary-general António Guterres turned up the heat when he said that the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed a “quantum leap” in climate action was now required if warming was to be limited to 1.5C. So there was a huge sigh of relief from airlines when the Dutch government lost its legal battle last week to cap flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, in an effort to reduce noise and pollution. One of the most aggressive attempts to address the environmental impacts of aviation appeared to have been stopped in its tracks. But that ruling was not the victory it seemed. The decision was based on a technicality, and the government has not yet said it will abandon its attempt to shrink Schiphol. The day before, perhaps in hopes of averting the worst, the state-owned airport announced its own restrictions. Schiphol will ban night flights, private jets and noisy aircraft, and has said it will reverse plans to build a new runway. But some in the industry worry that even this voluntary shrinking will not suffice. “It will be very difficult to avoid demand management,” says one veteran aviation industry executive. “Our solutions are medium to long-term. The sheer speed of climate change is such that . . . we need to reduce emissions much more drastically than we thought.” Aviation’s most ardent defenders have many arguments for why Schiphol’s situation w
