Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice.
Irish airliner Ryanair's 21 March announcement of a 2050 net-zero
carbon target makes it one of the only large airliners to make a
pledge individually. German airliner Lufthansa Group has set a
similar goal.
Reaching the goal will see Ryanair fuel planes with sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF), buy carbon offsets to counteract emissions
from flights, and fly more efficient routes.
For 10% of planned emissions reductions, Ryanair will rely upon
the latest version of the EU's industry-led air-traffic reform
program to boost operational efficiency, SESAR 3 Joint
Undertaking.
The EU program plans for wider use of
navigation software that will cut emissions from air-traffic
control corrections.
For 24% of its emissions reductions, Ryanair will use offsets.
Three years ago Ryanair's regional rival, Britain's EasyJet, pledged to become the "first
major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights across its whole
network" using offsets.
In 2020, a coalition of UK airport and airliners that includes
EasyJet, but not Ryanair, committed to cut its aviation-related net
carbon emissions to zero by 2050, in line with the UK government
goal of reaching net-zero GHG emissions nationwide.
So far, Ryanair's SAF commitments remain vague. The airliner
plans to continue its research in SAF through a partnership
launched with Trinity College in Dublin last year. That partnership
is researching not only SAF but also zero-carbon propulsion
systems.
Ryanair's vision to use SAF to eliminate 34% of its emissions
would leave it less dependent upon SAF than signatories to a global
pledge made last October.
The airline membership of trade body International Air Transport
Association (IATA), which does not include Ryanair, has pledged to
use SAF to reduce 65% of its CO2 emissions as part of a 2050
net-zero carbon goal.
Last year, global aviation alliance Oneworld — which
includes British Airways, Qantas and American Airlines —
pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
On the less formal side, Spain-registered International Airlines
Group (IAG) of airlines and US group Airlines for America (A4A)
have promised to "work" towards cutting emissions to net zero.
SAF, compatible engines yet to ramp up
While aviation sector pledges foresee the use of greener
aviation fuel, IATA's Director General Willie Walsh has said fuel
production mandates are required because there isn't enough SAF to
provide a short-term solution.
Trade body Airlines for Europe has warned against current EU
proposals aiming to expand carbon trading obligations for airlines
because SAF is expensive.
There are technological barriers to using SAF, too. SAF made
from cooking oil or hydrogen may be the solution, but it is not
possible to use it unblended. Under current regulatoins, SAF
blending up to 50% is permitted. However, US airliner United
Airlines tested engine technology using 100% SAF in a demonstration flight in
December.
The UK is one of the countries looking into ways to stimulate
SAF production. It aims to require airliners to
increasingly blend SAF into all aviation fuel from 2025. However, a
consultation on the SAF mandate suggested SAF production should be
subsidized.
The UK also launched a joint industry council aiming for zero-emission
trans-Atlantic flight "within a generation" and a
strategy to cut national aviation emissions.
"Many assessments have shown that CORSIA is the worst option for
the climate, not only because it relies on cheap offsets that will
never incentivize airlines to stop burning fossil fuel, but also
because there is no guarantee that these offsets will actually
permanently reduce CO2 emissions somewhere else in the world," said
T&E in October.
As land for nature-based offsets competes with land for farming
food, there may not be enough land available for offsets without
imperiling food security for countries. "Those limited capacities
are often exaggerated … scientific assessments just don't look at
political constraints and they don't look at social constraints,"
said Duncan McLaren Research Fellow Lancaster University, speaking
at an event on 14 hosted by Chatham House.
Companies can be even less certain about offsets they want to
use in the future, McLaren argued. "When these corporations set out
their plans to have residual emissions in 2030, or 2040, or even
2050, that are offset, they are making claims on the future
capacity to remove carbon."
Posted 21 March 2022 by Cristina Brooks, Senior Journalist, Climate and Sustainability
This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.