Europeans face additional costs of more than 800 billion euros air carriers to succeed zero carbon emissions until 2050. This is indicated by industry estimates, cited in the corresponding report of the Financial Times newspaper. The industry is aiming to achieve zero carbon emissions through a combination of new technologies, especially alternative fuels, and carbon offsets. It will also use more efficient aircraft, engines and air traffic control vehicles. Achievement net zero would require “significant additional effort compared to business as usual” at a cost of 820 billion euros over a 32-year period from 2018 to 2050, according to a report published by industry bodies. airlines.

As the FT says in its report, citing the report, the highest cost will be 441 billion euros, which will go towards spending related to cleaner fuels, that is, fuels that are not made from fossil fuels, but from raw materials such as animal fat. . vegetable oil or household waste. This “sustainable aviation fuel” can cut overall flight carbon emissions by about 70%, but is more expensive and produced in extremely limited quantities.

A report from the research group SEO Amsterdam Economics and the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center warns that airlines as well as airportsthey can’t finance it themselves climate transition. The lack of funding is partly because the industry has struggled to generate consistent profits in previous years. “With low profits due to high levels of competition and exacerbated by recent crises, the ability of the industry to finance the transition to climate change, especially European airlines, is expected to be low,” the report says.

The aviation industry report warns that both airlines and airports will not be able to finance the transition to climate change on their own.

According to the Financial Times, the industry has turned to European policymakers for new support, including classifying new and more efficient conventional-fuel aircraft as green investments under EU rules to make it easier to raise private capital. . The report shows that Europe will need a stable and predictable investment environment and a coherent policy framework to ensure that European aviation can access the capital it needs.

On the other hand, environmental groups have warned that the provision of such assistance will result in a large percentage of greenwashing incidents, as this can be taken into account when classifying aircraft as environmentally friendly but polluting.

A separate analysis by S&P Global this month, cited by the Financial Times, said that aircraft “currently have no economic alternative to fossil fuels.” In addition, according to the analysis, environmental legislation, including its taxes EUROPEAN UNION. on Carbon Emissions, may “spur innovation” but notes that investing in low-carbon and carbon-free energy sources is “expensive and therefore risky, especially given the long investment time.”