The outcome of the recent International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) High Level Meeting (in preparation for the United Nations’ specialised agency’s forty-first Assembly, to be held later this year), regarding net-zero carbon aviation, has been welcomed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body of the airline industry.

The ICAO High Level Meeting made progress towards establishing a ‘long-term aspirational goal’ (LTAG) of net-zero carbon aviation by 2050. ICAO is an intergovernmental organisation, and this objective is in line with the global temperature objectives agreed by the world’s governments in the December 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

“The ICAO High Level Meeting’s support of a long-term goal for States that is in line with the aviation sector’s net-zero by 2050 commitment is a step in the right direction,” affirmed IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “A formal agreement at the forty-first ICAO Assembly would underpin a common approach by States to decarbonise aviation. That’s critical for the aviation industry. Knowing that government policies will support the same goal and timeline globally will enable the sector, especially its suppliers, to make the needed investments to decarbonise.”

IATA’s member airlines have already committed themselves to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. They did so in October last year. Reaching this objective will require a variety of means: the large-scale adoption of sustainable aviation fuels, the development of new propulsion technologies, upgraded and new infrastructure, and operational efficiencies. Any remaining gaps would have to be covered by carbon capture or carbon offsets.

“Net zero by 2050 will require a global transition for aviation to new fuels, technologies and operations,” Walsh highlighted. “The significant investments to get there will need a solid policy foundation aligned with a global way forward.