World Economic Forum Launches Target True Zero to Reduce Aviation Emissions

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Key Takeaways:

  • The World Economic Forum's Target True Zero initiative aims to accelerate aviation's transition to zero emissions, primarily focusing on electric and hydrogen power.
  • Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are also a key focus, with airlines committed to their adoption and European legislation now mandating their use.
  • The initiative addresses aviation's significant contribution to global warming (up to 3.5% including non-CO2 effects) and projected market growth, with a pathway to be presented at COP26.
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Target True Zero is an initiative designed to identify avenues to speed up efforts to attain zero emissions from aviation. Initiated by the World Economic Forum, Target True Zero is expected to lean heavily toward electric and hydrogen power to wean aviation from traditional fossil fuels.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) is another technology that airlines, in particular, have committed to. In fact, European legislation introduced recently mandates SAF requirements along with other ways of working toward zero-emissions aircraft.

Currently, global aviation accounts for some 2.5 percent of CO2 emissions, overall, but its effect on global warming can be as much as 3.5 percent when taking into account other gases and pollutants, said the WEF. And according to one study cited in the announcement, the aviation market is on track to expand by 7.6 percent in the next five years.

Target True Zero will look at technology, industry dynamics, infrastructure, supply chain, regulation and public acceptance in its quest to move toward its namesake goal. Later this year, the program will present its research results and lay out a pathway for industry at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mark Phelps

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.
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