The European Commission has outlined proposals aimed at reducing net EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030 in its ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package published on Wednesday 14 July.
The proposals represent a major stepping stone to reach the EU’s climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and is in line with the aviation sector’s objectives of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions from all flights within and departing Europe by 2050.
In support of the ‘Fit for 55’ initiative, Europe’s airports, airlines, air navigation service providers and manufacturers have put forward the development of an EU Pact for Sustainable Aviation – a joint roadmap for industry and policymakers to align their actions towards realising the 2030 and 2050 climate goals. Led by the European Commission, the pact would set out a shared vision, common aspirational targets and high-level principles for joint aviation and policymaker action.
Earlier this year Europe’s aviation stakeholders launched the Destination 2050 initiative – a combination of measures across four pillars that can be used to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 205o. These include: improvements in aircraft and engine technologies; ramping up production and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels; implementation of smart economic measures; and improvements in air traffic management (ATM) and aircraft operations.
In a statement, the five associations (ACI Europe, ASD Europe, Airlines for Europe, ERA and CANSO) behind Destination 2050 said: “European aviation supports the Commission’s climate ambitions and Destination 2050 is our sector’s contribution to their implementation – but the roadmap clearly shows that we cannot do this alone. Realising our ambition and achieving a net-zero European aviation requires fully aligned and enabling policy, regulatory and financial frameworks – both at EU and national level. For this reason, we call on the European commission to support and take the lead in the development of an EU Pact for Sustainable Aviation to drive these proposals forward. We stand ready to engage with the European Commission to define such a Pact and hold regular exchanges to ensure its implementation.”
