The RAeS Sustainable Aviation Conference in June was a brilliant synopsis of the breadth of issues, solutions, and action taken to date by the global aviation community. It was as much inspiring as it was a powerful reality check. We currently lack a public consensus and commitment to the required technologies and policies that chart a course to true decarbonisation of aviation, including the removal of warming non-CO2 emissions. That is, acting to avoid contrails, adopting effective transcontinental carbon compliance and reinvesting tax funds into cross-sector true-zero sustainability initiatives. Initiatives, including truly sustainable alternative fuels, renewable energy and real carbon offsets.

We, as an industry, need to look up and take honest action. The climate is changing faster than expected, we are already close to missing the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, and aviation is a high-profile polluter. Airline operating conditions will become even more extreme, and the travelling public will become more aware of climate change and aviation’s role in it. The solutions exist, we have the know-how, but don’t yet have the will or the unadulterated agenda to challenge where needed and invest in winners for the planet. It is also critical that we sell the tangible upside, i.e. the real benefit to the public, rather than the guilt of not doing enough, to get the public (and investors) on board and the sustainability on track.

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