Perhaps the quickest means to help European aviation meet its plan for decarbonization rests with air traffic management and aircraft operations, which together account for one of four pillars of the industry’s response to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Effective implementation of ATM efficiencies could result in a significant reduction in CO2 and a major contribution toward the effort to meet interim targets within 15 years.
The European aviation sustainability Destination 2050 initiative identifies a route to achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 through a combination of four key measures. Apart from ATM efficiencies, the three other “pillars” consist of improving aircraft and engine technologies, which could achieve emission reductions of 37 percent; using sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), estimated to reduce emissions by 34 percent; and implementing economic measures that could result in reductions of 8 percent.
