Marte van der Graaf does not hold back when it comes to criticizing airlines’ efforts to protect the environment.
“It’s difficult to take the aviation industry’s net-zero targets seriously,” she says. Graf is Germany Aviation Policy Officer at the NGO Transport & Environment, which focuses on promoting sustainable transportation. “The aviation sector must significantly reduce its consumption of fossil fuels in the next decades. But things are going in the opposite direction at the moment,” she says.
More and more people flying
As climate change threatens the planet, the industry’s CO2 emissions continue to rise. And according to future projections, more and more people will be flying in the coming years. That has environmental groups worried: “Green growth and CO2-neutral air traffic remain an illusion” says the Stay Grounded network, which campaigns for less air traffic.
Nevertheless, the aviation industry has set ambitious goals for itself.
“The goal is to be climate-neutral by 2050,” says Wolf-Dietrich Kindt, Head of Climate and Environmental Protection at the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL). German airlines have invested billions of euros in renewing their fleets in recent decades, he said. That has made it possible to drastically reduce jet fuel and the emissions it creates. “That is a very significant achievement,” says Kindt.
New planes are more efficient
The most achievable way to reduce emissions at the moment is simply to make planes more fuel efficient. And according to experts, fuel efficiency can be increased by 20% with each new aircraft generation.
The EU has imposed regulations for airlines in the bloc, including blending quotas for more climate-friendly fuels, which come with a higher price tag. Additionally, the EU emissions trading system, the air traffic tax in Germany as well as a possible jet fuel tax put European airlines at a disadvantage against the non-EU airlines they compete with. As a result, there is not as much investment in newer aircraft as there should be.
Markus Fischer, director of the Aerospace Division at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), also believes in the innovative power of the aviation sector. “The industry has made a big effort to increase its efficiency through better engines and aerodynamics,” he says. He points out that the average fuel consumption per seat and kilometer today is only a third of what it was 50 years ago. However, Fischer admits that this is still not enough. The solution is alternative, non-fossil fuels.
Alternative fuels only available in small quantities
But this is precisely where the industry is struggling. Some airlines are promising electric aircraft for short-haul flights. Airbus, meanwhile, has announced a hydrogen-powered aircraft that will be ready to fly in 2035.
Yet sustainable fuels produced from renewable energy or biomass, which could replace fossil jet fuel in the short term and are less harmful to the climate, will only be available in small quantities — and at very high prices — for the foreseeable future. “There are currently no revolutionary and immediately available solutions for emission-free aviation due to major technological challenges,” according to the DLR.
Michael Haid wants to change that. He is the head of EDL Anlagenbau, a company that is planning one of the world’s first factories for the industrial production of green jet fuel near Leipzig.
“It will be very difficult to reach the goal of climate-neutral flying by 2050,” he says. “Especially when you see how long it all takes.” He blames the EU for imposing complicated regulations, which cause delays. They’ve been planning the production of their fuel, called HyKero, since 2021, but production will not start before the end of 2027.
Is climate-neutral air travel even possible?
There are additional barriers to achieving climate-neutral aviation. CO2 accounts for only a portion of the climate-damaging emissions from an aircraft.
Markus Fischer of DLR estimates that the “non-CO2 effects” are responsible for at least 50% of the environmental impact of flying. Contrails, for example, contribute to global warming.
“Even without alternative fuels, you can do a lot to help the environment,” he says. Negative effects of flying can be reduced simply by modifying flight speed, altitude and routes, for example.
And yet the industry itself does not seem to believe it will reach the goal of climate-neutral aviation by 2050. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), for example, speaks of CO2 neutrality that is likely to only be achieved through carbon offsetting.
“Compensation measures are a bogus solution for the environment,” criticizes Marte van der Graaf of Transport & Environment. “Airlines should stop using them as an excuse to postpone real climate protection measures.”
She puts it bluntly: “The only truly green flight is the one that stays on the ground.”
This article was translated from German.
