As air traffic resumes after two years marked by COVID, the general assembly of the International Air Transport Association has spoken out in favor of a drastic reduction in CO2 emissions.
The airlines on Monday called on countries around the world to adopt and support their goals of “net zero emissionsof CO2 by 2050, three months before a crucial meeting of a UN agency. “It is essential that governments support the aviation sector with public policies aimed at the same goal of decarbonization“, said the director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), Willie Walsh, on the occasion of the general assembly of the organization in Doha, Qatar.
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At its previous annual meeting, last October in Boston (United States), Iata committed to reaching “net zero emissionsof CO2 in 2050, to comply with the Paris agreement supposed to limit global warming to +1.5°C. “Decarbonizing the global economy will require investments in all countries and for decades, especially the transition away from fossil fuelsMr. Walsh pleaded: “it is important to have stable policies».
A consensus on the issue far from certain
This appeal comes three months before the 41st assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a UN agency) convened at the end of September in Montreal, which will examine the “long term goal» to reduce net aviation emissions to zero by the middle of the century. A consensus on the issue is far from being achieved, countries such as Russia and China in particular having set decarbonization objectives for 2060. Chinese companies had also expressed their objections in Boston.
To put pressure on countries reluctant or hostile to the imposition of such constraints, France, which then held the rotating presidency of the European Union, published in February the “Toulouse Declaration» calling the «whole worldto endorse these goals. The text had been signed by 42 States, the 27 of the Union but also the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Morocco and Georgia. Dozens of organizations and companies, including airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and energy companies had also initialed the declaration.
«The sector is firmly committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. How would governments explain the lack of agreement to their constituents?asked Mr. Walsh. Between planes moreclean» and sustainable fuels, it will be necessary to invest 1.550 billion dollars in 30 years to decarbonize the sector, which currently represents between 2.5 and 3% of global CO2 emissions, Iata warned in October.