In the global effort to combat the climate crisis, the air-transport industry, which represents just 3 percent of global emissions, may have a big role to play during the next few decades — but investors will need to think outside the box.
In November, Ardian held a virtual infrastructure summit, The Fight for a Net-Zero Aviation, calling for greater improvements in technological innovation, the widespread adoption of sustainable aviation fuels and a ramp-up of market-based solutions to reach net-zero emissions in the aviation industry by 2050.
Although airports’ scope-3 emissions represent around 95 percent of airport emissions, the implications, if no action is taken, are significant — not to mention the level of investment required to bring this down to net-zero. In a scenario where the air-transport industry is the only one not to take action, it could represent 22 percent of emissions in 2050. If no action is taken now, the current trajectory estima