Air travel and the aviation industry are fast recovering to pre-pandemic levels. This year, an approx number of aircraft users, assessed to be 3.4 billion are scheduled to travel, which is nearly double the 2020 data. Those who were sceptical of the aviation industry’s survival and revival due to COVID-19, believing that the epidemic would result in a dramatic and irreversible drop in air travel, are now finding that they had merely undervalued its utility, need and demand in the current modern lifestyle.
Why is there a need for ‘green air fuel’?
However, there are challenges in every aspect of life, and so in the aviation industry. One of the biggest challenges in the aviation sector is the skyrocketing jet fuel prices, which have further intensified because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Another mark of concern is the emissions from jet fuel polluting the atmosphere. In 2020, the drop in air travel across the planet dramatically reduced carbon emissions by several hundred million tons. But, after the pandemic seems to reduce and things return to normalcy, and air traffic resumes its former pattern, emissions are expected to rise to high levels.
Fortunately, as the saying goes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel; the solution to these emissions is to move to a technology that supports green fuel. Green and sustainable air travel is indeed in the future. Biofuels are projected to play a noteworthy part in the shift to a greener aviation sector. Along with their capacity to benefit the environment, these new, cleaner fuel resources will reduce the world’s dependence on nations such as Russia to reach energy targets.
The advantages of environmentally friendly aircraft fuel or ‘green air fuel’.
A round-trip flight from London to New York produces more carbon pollution than the average person in 56 nations produces in a year. As airlines look for methods to lessen their environmental effect, 100% renewable aviation fuel (SAF) can help them lower emissions by up to 80%.
Efforts are taken all over the world towards ‘green air fuel’.
The partnership of more than 100 firms announced its landmark 2030 Ambition Statement to power global aviation with 10% SAF by 2030 at the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021.
The ambition statement, signed by American Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airway Boeing, s, Airports Council International, Shell, BP, and many others, is a significant step toward putting the aviation sector on the journey to net-zero emissions.
Plans made by Indian territory.
The risks connected with catastrophic climatic events have been addressed several times in global forums, leaving little question that governments and corporations must respond to. The weight of action on the major greenhouse gas (GHG) producers is not lost on India, which pledged to acquire 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 at the Glasgow-based event known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference(COP26).
In the last decade, innovative reforms and policies have proved that India is concerned about the environment and is constructing the infrastructure needed for a sustainable future. However, moving to a low-carbon economy need comprehensive programs for the segments most accountable for GHG emissions and the most difficult to reduce carbon emissions, such as the country’s growing aviation sector, which is anticipated to achieve double-digit growth.
As a result, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Prior to that, the International Civil Aviation Organization approved the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which commits the industry to carbon-neutral growth (based on a 2019 baseline) commencing no later than 2027.
SAF can reduce GHG emissions by 65 to 100% as compared to conventional jet fuel. Adopting SAF aligns with India’s energy security goals, strengthens its sovereign climate obligations, and creates opportunities for rural populations to thrive.
Challenges in front of the Indian government.
PM Narendra Modi has pledged to make India, the world’s third-largest producer of greenhouse emissions, net carbon neutral by 2070, but his administration confronts challenges on several fronts. According to BloombergNEF, by 2040, just 59.4% of new auto sales in India will be electric cars, compared to 84.6% in China and 78.7% in the United States. With state power wholesalers in financial trouble, India may potentially miss its aim of growing its capacity for renewable energy to 175 gigatonnes by the conclusion of 2022.
How can India lead towards sustainable ‘green air fuel’?
To be a pioneer in sustainable aviation, India requires stable, technology-neutral policies that encourage innovation, ensure long-term offtake, and push for GHG intensity-based prices for aviation fuels.
Sustainable aviation fuel requires investment to lower production costs in the same way that the petroleum sector did. However, the latter was given a century to do it, something we no longer have in the face of the current climate catastrophe.
The final message for the advancement of “green air fuel”.
Today, the private sector and the government have a chance to invest in a new type of green air-fuel to support national defense which is a part of sustainable aviation fuel. There are hurdles, as there have been in the past, but the potential for the Globe is substantial. A pledge by various high-level officials to purchase a specific amount of sustainable aviation or green air fuel might assist in accelerating more private-sector investment and provide considerable advantages to national security. Other strategic benefits of sustainable aviation fuel should be considered. Greater energy security, more consistent aircraft fuel prices for defense users, and diplomatic wins are among the benefits.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
