oneworld member airlines commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050

oneworld member airlines have committed to net zero carbon emission by 2050, becoming the first global airline alliance to strive for carbon neutrality.

Announced last week, this target will be achieved within existing environmental framework agreed to by member governments and through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

oneworld alliance includes 13 airlines – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines. They serve more than 1,000 airports in over 170 territories.

oneworld Chairman and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, said that this commitment to net zero by 2050 “underlines the importance that we as an alliance have placed on becoming a more sustainable industry.”

Each of the alliance’s 13 member airlines will develop their own approach to reaching net zero by 2050. Such initiatives include efficiency measures, investments in sustainable aviation fuels and more fuel-efficient aircraft, reduction of waste and single-use plastics, and carbon offsets.

Other initiatives that are already in progress include the use of more sustainable materials, investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft and the development of sustainable aviation fuels.

Some airlines such as IAG (the parent of member carriers British Airways and Iberia),  have already begun their work and are now the first airline group in the world to have committed to net zero by 2050. Japan Airlines and Qantas have also followed suit, while Finnair aims to achieve carbon neutrality as early as 2045.

In order to reach this target, British Airways has contributed towards an initiative to turn household and commercial waste into renewable jet fuel.

American Airlines has already undertaken an extensive fleet replacement which has seen the arrival of 500 new, more fuel-efficient aircraft into its fleet. They have also begun adopting sustainable aviation fuel.

In recent years, “the Japan Airlines has invested in the development of sustainable aviation fuel to help contribute in building a firm supply chain for the airline industry,” said Japan Airlines President Yuji Akasaka.

The aviation industry produces around two percent of all human-induced carbon dioxide emissions, with aviation responsible for 12 percent of CO2 emissions from all transport sources. This new target could change the face of aviation as we know it.