Despite the UK's attempts to get ahead of the curve when tackling the climate crisis, a damning new report suggests that the country's aviation sector has missed all but one sustainability target since 2000.
The report found easyJet was the only company to achieve a climate goal. Credit: Simone Previdi / Shutterstock
British environmental NGO Possible found these targets had either "been missed, abandoned or just forgotten about", and revealed the aviation sector had been left to self-regulate its emissions.
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A mix of unclear targets, shifting goalposts, inconsistent reporting, and a lack of accountability - and in some cases targets being quietly dropped - caused these targets to suffer.
It also suggests that the government's upcoming "Jet Zero" scheme to decarbonise the sector may go against guidance given by climate change experts.
The report detailed a number of targets that were missed by various companies operating within the UK and when these targets were abandoned.
These range from increased fuel efficiency to incorporating SAF, increasing biofuel use, and setting strict emissions reductions. All either failed to meet expectations or were abandoned before their deadlines.
According to the report, the only target that was met was a 2.5% decrease in CO2 per passenger kilometre (ppkm) travelled, set by easyJet and was completed in 2015, although Possible considered this to be an "unambitious" target and followed a failed previous goal of 3% ppkm.
It also failed on a 2007 plan to build an "ecoJet," which would reportedly produce fewer emissions and be in use by 2015. The project was abandoned some time after 2009.
According to the BBC, who got in contact with the airliner, the ecoJet was a prototype to "urge the industry to produce planes that significantly reduce carbon emissions," adding that it has only strengthened its net-zero ambitions in the years since.
In a list of goals laid out in its 2011/2012 report, Virgin Atlantic vowed that 10% of its fuel would be SAF by 2020 - a goal it failed to meet. In the same report, it also vowed to reduce per-kilometre emissions by 30%. Later, in a 2014 report, it admitted it needed to "pick up the pace" regarding reductions.
In addition, Virgin founder Richard Branson made a pledge to donate $3 billion (€2.84 billion) to fight global warming in 2006. In the end, Virgin's donations were still significant, at $300 million (€284 million), but ultimately fell well below the pledge.
British Airways has sustainability goals dating back to 1999 detailing tackling fuel efficiency between 1990 and 2010. An internal 2007 report found fuel efficiency had improved by around 28% from 1990 levels and later set a goal of slashing emissions by 50% by 2050.
It appears to have stopped reporting on this 1990-2010 goal following a 2008 study, and it is not clear whether this target was met.
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However, despite the report being designed to look at the state of the UK's aviation sector, it also details the goals of international firms.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) also set itself numerous alternative fuel goals, most notably a 2008 pledge to have SAF make up 10% of its fuel mix. It has since been revealed on social media this was not an "official goal." The IATA has since set itself a target of net-zero by 2050.
In the years since, several forms of alternative fuels have cropped up, ranging from green hydrogen to biofuels. Recent developments in urban air mobility and eVTOL, such as the world's first vertiport, located in Coventry, also present other angles to slash emissions for the sector.
The UK government has set itself an interim goal to ensure that 10% of the sector's fuel is made up of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030, rising to 75% by 2050, and has unveiled a strategy to mandate SAF use to help decarbonise the sector.
The strategy is designed to allow for air travel levels to remain somewhat normal while attempting to slash emissions across the board. However, Possible has stated that some level of demand control may be necessary to aid in making transport greener.
"Every credible independent assessment of deep decarbonisation pathways through to the middle of the century incorporates some element of demand management: measures which reduce overall demand for air travel. But the government’s new Transport Decarbonisation Plan does not," according to Leo Murray, the NGO's director of innovation.
He suggested that a "frequent flyer levy" - a progressive tax for people who regularly take flights - may be necessary in order to discourage users from taking continual plane journeys. This may not be in effect should aircraft start travelling sustainably.
"By focusing demand reduction policy on the small minority of people who are responsible for almost all of the environmental damage from air travel, it will be possible to maintain access to some air travel for everyone, at the same time as keeping overall levels of flying within safe limits for the climate," he added.
According to the government's own data, as of 2019, aviation accounts for around 9% of carbon emissions and is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases globally.
In 2009, G8 leaders agreed to a 50% reduction of emissions by 2050 - since increased to 100% - and the UK set itself a goal of 80%, which has also changed to complete decarbonisation.
What followed was the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which hoped to limit global temperature rise by at least 2ºC, preferably 1.5ºC, which would mandate rapid emissions reductions. A recent report from the Energy Transitions Commission suggested the latter target has a "50/50 chance" of being achievable should decarbonisation be stepped up alongside the significant ramping up of carbon capture and storage (CCS) tech.
Research from the University of Manchester suggests that the developed world must end new oil and gas projects by 2034 to meet the 1.5ºC targets. Last year, the UN said current climate action is "not enough" to reach the PCA targets, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for "radical change" to consumption habits to reach net-zero quickly.
Aviation, alongside the entire transport sector, is considered a high priority for decarbonisation due to the significant investments required.
A 2006 study by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research warned that aviation growth would need to be curbed until it is made more energy-efficient, or until the use of alternative fuels is widespread.
Both the US and EU have also set goals for decarbonisation and the promotion of alternative fuels, which failed, according to Possible. The US has since pledged to completely decarbonise the aviation sector by 2050 alongside a slew of other climate pledges made by the Biden administration.
Read more: US to target net-zero aviation emissions by 2050
The NGO believes all these failed goals severely affect the credibility of future climate pledges from the aviation sector and hints that many may be set to prevent government interference.
"Our hypothesis is that targets present an impression of action, of direction, of the existence of a plan to address aviation’s impacts," the report states.
"These targets, therefore, serve to reassure policymakers that the industry has the problem under control and that other - more politically difficult - measures, such as demand management, are not needed."
It also believes that industry efficiency targets, though ineffective at controlling growth, have been "consistently used to ease policymakers' environmental concerns.
Ultimately, it suggests ambitious and sustained targets for decarbonisation as well as pushes for the production of "enormous quantities" of alternative fuels.
It concludes by suggesting that there is not "great confidence" that future sustainability goals will be met without policies to manage demand for flights.
- For more information on all the climate goals missed and the various companies covered, consult the original report by Promise.
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