Air New Zealand axes climate goal as aviation sector struggles to go green

Air New Zealand has scrapped its 2030 climate target as the aviation sector grapples with a lack of cleaner fuels and more efficient aircraft, a rare admission of the challenges the industry is facing to decarbonise.

The carrier has been hampered by the availability of new planes and “the affordability and availability of alternative jet fuels”, the Auckland-based, Australian-listed company said on Tuesday.

“Potential delays to our fleet renewal plan pose an additional risk to the target’s achievability,” chief executive Greg Foran said.

“It is possible the airline may need to retain its existing fleet for longer than planned due to global manufacturing and supply chain issues.”

Air New Zealand had aimed to cut carbon intensity by 28.9 per cent by 2030 from a 2019 baseline, and has now begun work on a new near-term target, the company said. It will continue to aim to hit net zero by mid-century.

Emissions from aviation are forecast to rise 82 per cent by 2050 under Bloomberg’s base case Economic Transition Scenario, which assumes nations and companies rely on technologies that are currently economic. That would see the industry’s share of global carbon dioxide pollution jump to about 6.7 per cent from around 2.7 per cent today.

Demand for air travel is continuing to rise, while adoption of the sector’s main decarbonisation tools — sustainable aviation fuels and more efficient aircraft — has lagged. The share of SAF used by six major airline groups that report consumption is lower than one per cent.

Potential other solutions including the use of hydrogen as a fuel or electric aircraft remain far from commercialisation.

Air New Zealand will also leave the Science Based Targets initiative, the world’s main organisation focused on reducing corporate emissions.

SBTi lists 31 airlines — including Qantas — that have put forward targets to align with efforts to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degree Celsius, though has removed some of those commitments — indicating they don’t meet the organisation’s criteria, that detailed plans haven’t been provided within a set time-frame, or that the companies have withdrawn the objectives.

Qantas is targeting net zero emissions but 2050 and aims to make sustainable fuel at least 10 per cent of its fuel mix by 2030.

Bloomberg