Aviation professionals form pressure group to promote “deep and just transition”
Senior aviation professionals with shared environmental concerns have formed Call Aviation to Action, a group who aim to promote a “deep and just transition on aviation business models and strategies to fit a liveable planet.”
The Dutch-based group says it aims to unite aviation professionals who are “torn between their passion for flying and their concern for the planet”.
The group launched this month with one of its co-founders, Karel Bockstael, former Vice President of Sustainability at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines saying, “We see the good that aviation can do, but we also see that we must reinvent our industry to restore its positive contribution to the world.
“Aviation is overly optimistic about the timelines for technology to solve its climate problems. Aviation must take control of its transformation before it is forced to.”
Call Aviation to Action has already been joined by some 200 people, all with a connection to the aviation industry, including pilots, academics and travel industry figures.
Call Aviation to Action has listed the four actions it feels necessary to set aviation on the “right flightpath” and that these actions need implementing immediately. Namely:
Set absolute emission reduction targets in line with carbon budgets, and acknowledge the aviation industry’s responsibility for cumulative emissions – as these are the ones that drive global warming.
Advocate for and help implement regulation that keeps us within planetary boundaries and really drives innovation, rather than lobbying against climate policies.
Be realistic on the timeline of what technology can bring and develop a business model that can ensure its sustainability on its own, in time and independent of breakthroughs elsewhere.
Acknowledge that managing global demand in a fair manner is part of the solution especially in regions that have a larger share in historic CO2 emissions.
Bockstael said Call Aviation to Action was established because “We know a lot of people are concerned about the future of our industry and the planet, but mistakenly assume their peers do not. We need to break the silence to address these concerns and encourage our leaders to become part of this transition.”