The role of sustainability and clean fuel in the future of air travel in Latin America

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Globally, consumers, communities, corporations, and governments are focusing more intently than ever on the need to arrest growth in carbon emissions and ways to transition to a net-zero future.

Following a dramatic 2021 IPCC report, and the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, there has been more pressure than ever for industries to demonstrate decarbonisation strategies and outcomes.

The airline industry is a prominent target, despite generating a relatively small 2.5% to 3.5% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions – but it is a conspicuous target.

In 2016 ICAO, supported by IATA, established CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which was arguably the first industry to target 2050 emission ceilings. But now its programme is no longer considered stringent enough. As its name implies, the strategy combined reducing emissions, as well as offsetting them.

The industry now potentially faces interim 2030 targets as demands intensify to reduce emissions even faster. This will be an extreme challenge, as most of the anticipated technological solutions are not expected to occur until the 2030s and beyond.

Two of Brazil’s largest operators believe there’s a built-in infrastructure in the country for the urban mobility market, and are in the process of working to launch operations with electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the not too distant future. Are operators in other Latin countries considering this technology? In this session we hear from industry experts as they look to the future to determine when, and if, targets can be achieved.

What are the milestones that need to be met in the near term to reach those targets?

What are the biggest challenges the industry faces as it works towards meeting those ambitions?

How are governments and airlines in the region approaching the development of SAF?

What level of investment is necessary, and is the interest there?

What innovative strategies are airlines adopting in the short term to meet their sustainability goals as investors increasingly place more emphasis on environmental stewardship?