Two-dozen organizations representing a cross-section of the aviation industry are appealing to lawmakers on Capitol Hill to develop a comprehensive proposal to help cut carbon emissions. In a letter signed by organizations representing business and general aviation, airlines, repair stations, unions, travel and manufacturing groups, and other stakeholders, industry leaders urged lawmakers to take a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to leap ahead on our environmental goals…to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The organizations stressed that to address climate change, the government and industry must work together to advance technology, infrastructure, and operational strategies faster and further. “This ambitious undertaking will require industry, consumers, and governments to work in partnership to take decisive action to enable innovation and incentivize scale-up, cost-competitiveness, and deployment in these critical areas.”
According to the groups, the U.S. Congress should include measures aimed at fostering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development, production, and distribution; low/no emission technologies deployment; aviation environmental research and development; and air traffic management modernization.
This includes support for an SAF blenders tax credit, a grant program for SAF producers to build up infrastructure, funding for a range of clean energy and technology advancements (including for advanced air mobility), and varied measures to boost air traffic management modernization.
“While business aviation continues to make major investments in SAF and electric propulsion to achieve our goals, we need a partnership between industry and governments that enables and supports the technologies and policies that will allow us to meet our sustainability goals,” said Ed Bolen, president and CEO of NBAA, which was among the signatories of the letter. “With the policy proposals like an SAF-specific blender’s tax credit and competitive grants for advanced air mobility planning and infrastructure, the aviation industry can take immediate and significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”