The rich should pay more to clean up aviation, says Heathrow boss
Hannah Ziadi, CNN
Wealthy travelers will have to pay more for flights if the aviation industry switches to cleaner fuel, the head of one of the world’s largest airports said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos hosted by CNN correspondent Richard Quest, Heathrow Airport CEO John Holland-Kay said the wealthy and businesses should pay extra for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) flights to keep costs down for everyone. the rest, especially people in developing countries.
He said financiers and energy providers should invest in SNF production, including in emerging markets.
“But as individuals and companies, we have to pay a premium on sustainable aviation fuel so that we can bring down the cost so that the mass market and developing countries don’t have to pay for the energy transition. The rich people in this room and rich countries should fund the energy transition in aviation to help support developing countries,” he added.
Holland-Kay said the solution to sustainable aviation is not to fly less, which is not always possible outside Northern Europe, but to use cleaner energy sources for travel.
SAF is considered critical to reducing aviation carbon footprint, but its sustainability comes at a cost. Some airlines allow passengers to offset their CO2 emissions by paying extra for tickets to cover the additional cost of using SAF, but very few travelers currently take advantage of this option.
Holland-Kay said companies can play an important role in accelerating the adoption of SAF, as business travel accounts for about 30% of the fuel used in aviation. He cited the example of Microsoft, which has an internal travel carbon tax that requires each business unit to pay a levy based on their carbon footprint.
Produced primarily from recycled food and agricultural waste such as used cooking oil, SAF is a type of biofuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.
It also costs two to eight times more than its fossil-fuel-based alternative, which is why it accounted for just 0.1% of jet fuel used in commercial aviation in 2019, according to a report from the World Economic Forum and McKinsey.
In 2021, the industry committed to replacing 10% of the world’s jet fuel stocks with SAF by 2030. -zero transatlantic flight.
According to Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, investments in clean energy need to be greatly increased if the world is to meet its climate goals. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a surge in renewable energy investment as countries seek to secure alternative energy sources, but there is still more to be done, he said.
Speaking at another Davos panel hosted by CNN correspondent Julia Chatterley earlier Tuesday, Birol said that for every dollar invested in fossil fuels, the world is currently investing $1.50 in clean energy. He added that this amount should be increased to $9 to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
— Anna Kuban shared a report.
The-CNN-Wire
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