The global aviation industry could achieve 'carbon neutrality' if companies invested just six per cent of their annual profits into offsets each year, according to an analysis published today by Thrust Carbon.
The report from the green technology start-up this morning calculates that the carbon-intensive aviation sector would have to collectively invest $1.57bn in carbon offsets to compensate for the entirety of its emissions.
Related articles
Government urged to target 40GW solar capacity by 2030
UK has 'long way to go' to build purely electric car market, spending watchdog warns
Government urged to factor aviation and shipping into UK climate goals
Drax abandons plans for controversial 3.2GW gas power plant
With the sector raking in $25.9bn of post-tax profits in 2019, the price of carbon neutrality is therefore "more than affordable" for the sector, it concludes.
However, the voluntary offsets market would need to more than double in size before it can meet anything near the demand required to decarbonise the aviation sector, Thrust Carbon warns.
As such, the company has called on aviation firms to make advance payments to stimulate the market, noting that commitments today could help build the required supply of offsets within three to five years.
"The challenge now is to make sure we have enough offsets available to mitigate the damage caused by flying," the founders of Thrust Carbon Kit Brennan and Mark Corbett said in a statement. "We need a white-hot focus on boosting the supply and demand for voluntary carbon offsets across the world.
"Landowners need to work hand-in-hand with investors and governments to ramp up natural carbon capture solutions on the supply side. At the same time, we need airlines, the wider travel industry and corporate travel teams to drive demand for voluntary offsets."
With many of the most critical solutions to decarbonising the aviation sector - such as zero emission planes powered by hydrogen fuel cells and battery technology - not expected to be available until after 2030, airlines around the world intend to rely heavily on carbon offsetting to meet climate goals over the coming decade.
But carbon offsetting in aviation has also been widely criticised by those who question both the ethics and effectiveness of the practice and argue it is a distraction that allows companies to avoid making much-needed absolute reductions in their emissions footprint.
Thrust Carbon's Brennan and Corbett emphasised that offsetting was only one part of the solution to the climate emergency and would not make flying sustainable.
"Offsetting will not make airlines green," they said. "To make that happen, we still need investment in new technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen and electric planes. But offsetting will buy us the time we so desperately need.
"We fully recognise that offsets are only part of the solution to the climate crisis. Our business is emissions measurement and reduction, through changing behaviours to reduce corporate travel. That said, high-quality offsets are still one of the best tools we have to combat the climate crisis right now as they can buy us crucial time to mitigate the damaging effects of GHG emissions. The airline industry can definitely afford the offsets needed, so it's now up to all of us to boost the supply and demand to ensure they start purchasing them."
The findings come as Dubai-based private jet operator Jetex announced it had inked a deal with Shell that would allow it to offer customers the option of offsetting the carbon emissions from their air travel from certain locations.
Jetex said the service will initially be offered to customers flying from Paris, Singapore, Dublin, Dusseldorf, and Salalah airports, with a view to eventually extend the offering to other locations.
Jetex, which claims to operate more than 200 flights a day, said the offsetting arrangement would allow customers to calculate the flight emissions associated with their jet fuel consumption and compensate for them by investing in accredited nature-based carbon offsets supplied by Shell.
"Solving the complex issue of climate protection requires a multifaceted response, and offsetting emissions on flights is just one step that we are adopting to reduce our environmental impact," said Adel Mardini, founder and chief executive of Jetex. "By working with Shell, we have carefully chosen environmental programs to ensure they are proven and deliver CO2 emissions reductions as well as benefits to the communities and local biodiversity."
The carbon offsets offered to customers will be certified by international organisations such as the Verified Carbon Standard as well as Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standard, Jetex said, and will include protection or redevelopment of natural ecosystems, such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
Anna Mascolo, president of global aviation at Shell, toasted the new tie-up. "We look forward to working with Jetex to help enable their customers to compensate for flight emissions by choosing Shell's high-quality nature-based carbon offsets," she said. "Until sustainable aviation fuels and technology are developed at scale, carbon offsets will play a key role in helping the aviation sector achieve net-zero emissions."
0 Comments