Aviation sustainability experts believe momentum toward the goal of net-zero carbon emissions will continue despite the recent change in U.S. leadership.
“We don’t expect [sustainability] to go away” as a corporate priority, said Emily Tobler, 4AIR aviation sustainability program manager. “The interest is not down. I think you’re going to see people publicly walking away from [emissions] targets, but from our perspective the actual work in this space has not slowed.”
Tobler and 4AIR COO Nancy Bsales offered their perspectives on the prospects for sustainability Feb. 11 at the NBAA International Operators Conference. Emissions reduction efforts in Europe and the UK are gaining momentum, they said, with the ReFuelEU mandate entering force and emissions trading systems being implemented in multiple countries.
In the U.S., however, progress toward ramping up the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was cast into doubt with the return of Donald Trump as president in January. Trump questions the science of climate change and has already ordered a funding freeze of the Inflation Reduction Act, former president Joe Biden’s signature climate law.
Real-time polling of the audience of corporate flight department managers and pilots reinforced the perception that the change in U.S. leadership has altered the prospects for sustainability. About 75% of respondents to an on-line survey indicated their belief that sustainability will be reduced as a corporate priority.
In response to other questions, about 35% of respondents said their flight departments have initiated a sustainability strategy, and about 35% said they have purchased SAF. More than 60% of respondents said the most difficult conversation they can have with an aircraft owner or principle is “adding costs to the operation without confidence on the details and benefits.”
Sustainability experts said they expected those survey results. But they offered assurances that progress toward climate goals will continue.
Tobler said climate leadership in the U.S. will shift to various states led by California. There, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023-24 signed three laws that require large companies doing business in the state to publicly disclose greenhouse gas emissions data, climate-related financial risk and carbon offset sales.
“We’re obviously seeing a bit of a rollback nationally, federally, here in the U.S.,” Tobler said. “We do certainly expect different states to pop up with their own action in this space.”
Bsales said 88% of publicly traded companies have implemented ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives; 501 companies have signed the Amazon Climate Pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040; and 3,708 companies have net-zero commitments.
The march toward net-zero emissions started around 2020, at the tail end of Trump’s first term as president, Bsales said.
“The momentum around sustainability, around reducing emissions from jet fuel [and] decarbonizing aviation, actually started about five years ago and I think everybody in this room can tell us who the president was five years ago,” Bsales said. “The momentum started then; I don’t think [companies] expect it to go away now.”