Flying towards Net Zero: Decarbonising aviation amid a climate crisis

In 2021 the international air transport industry committed itself to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Yet, in 2022, as demand for air travel rebounded following the COVID-19 pandemic, air transport’s CO2 emissions reached almost 800 million tonnes, approximately 80% of the pre-pandemic level. Reconciling growing consumer demand for flight - a mobility regime which still relies on finite fossil fuel as its primary energy source - with net zero commitments in the midst of a climate crisis is not only a key challenge for the air transport sector but for global society as a whole. This chapter aims to review the key technological propositions (including sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen and electric/hybrid aircraft), and international regulatory interventions which aim to facilitate commercial aviation’s transition towards net zero. The chapter concludes by assessing the key challenges to meeting aviation’s 2050 net zero ambition.