Aviation needs its own ‘Apollo program’ to achieve net zero, says industry expert
The world must commit to investment and cooperation on the scale of another Apollo program if aviation has any hope of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, says Ken Quinn of the global law firm Clyde & Co.
Quinn was responding to criticism from the outspoken CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Bakar, at the IATA World Air Transport Forum in Istanbul this June. Al Bakar described the efforts of the industry as a “PR exercise” and that if those efforts continue at the current pace, aviation has no hope of achieving its net zero targets.
- Listen now: Why The Aviation Industry Needs A Sustainability Moonshot
- Opinion: The Plain Truth About Aviation’s 2050 Sustainability Goals
While IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh, rejected Al Bakar’s claims, Quinn, who is renowned international aviation lawyer and industry expert, agrees with the CEO. “Just over 60 years ago, in a speech to a crowd of 30,000 at Rice University in Houston, US President John F. Kennedy said: ‘We choose to go to the Moon…not because they are easy, but because they are hard.’
“For aviation to be net zero in carbon emissions it will not be easy; it will be hard. So was powered flight, but we’ve learned long ago, in aviation, anything is possible. To get away from fossil fuels entirely, we’ll need a moonshot.”
Related Content
