A new private-public partnership has been set up to work on the “urgent” need to cut pollution from domestic aviation.
A leadership panel, Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa (SAA), has been set up by Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport
The group will provide strategic direction and co-ordination on ambitions for low-and-zero-emissionaviation and will work to accelerate the decarbonisation of aviation, said the ministry’s acting chief executive Bryn Gandy.
The group includes representatives from airports, airlines, pilot associations, other industry partners and government departments to accelerate emissions reduction in the aviation sector.
“It also aims to identify the cross-government work on aviation to avoid duplication, create synergies and make better use of limited resources. This will be achieved in part with the SAA establishing working groups to accelerate progress on decarbonising Aotearoa’s aviation sector,” its terms of reference say.
Domestic aviation accounts for around 6.3 per cent of Aotearoa’s emissions.
“While small when compared to other modes of transport, aviation is considered a hard to abate sector, thus there is still an urgent need ... in starting work early to decarbonise the aviation sector,” an overview of SAA says.
In 2019 the light fleet including cars, SUVs, utes, vans and light trucks was responsible for 67 per cent of emissions, heavy fleet 23 per cent, aviation 6 per cent, shipping 3 per cent and rail 1 per cent.
The Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) sets targets to reduce transport emissions by 41 per cent by 2035.
‘We need to work together across government and the private sector to collaborate on ways to address this,” said Gandy.
Kiri Hannifin is Air New Zealand's new chief sustainability officer. Photo / Supplied
He is the chair of SAA. Other members are from airlines, airports, sector groups and government agencies and they include Air NZ’s new chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin, Qantas’ domestic and international airline boss Andrew David, Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui, Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Keith March and NZ Airline Pilots Association president Andrew Ridling.
Air New Zealand will play a key role in the sustainability push and Hannifin recently joined the airline from Countdown where she was director of corporate affairs, quality, health and safety and sustainability.
She said Air New Zealand had strongly advocated for the establishment of SAA.
The airline’s goal is to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“To do this we need to collaborate with the entire industry as well as with key government stakeholders. We need to work together to drive the innovation and change necessary to secure a more sustainable future,” said Hannifin.
The airline has recently imported a small batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is promoting hard its aim to run zero emissions demonstrator commercial aircraft by 2026 with a target of using hydrogen to help power its regional fleet from 2030.
Gandy said SAA marked the delivery of one of the actions required by the ERP to decarbonise aviation.
Other actions include developing emissions reduction targets for domestic aviation and implementing a sustainable aviation fuel mandate.
While the purpose of this group is to provide strategic direction, it does not substitute or override decision-making on individual projects.
Decision-making and internal processes will continue according to standard accountabilities, its terms of reference say and they specify the group’s aims to:
• Provide industry leadership on efforts to deliver Aotearoa capabilities for net zero aviation, integrating best practice.
• Promote and mobilise private sector efforts to decarbonise aviation, while keeping the network safe and reliable.
• Identify and optimise the strategic, economic and international benefits for the industry, while overcoming the barriers and constraints the industry may face in achieving this goal.
• Consider what barriers, including regulatory and investment barriers, need addressing to enable a smoother decarbonisation pathway.
• Work to accelerate and enable the commercial operation of zero-emission aviation systems in Aotearoa, including SAF, zero-emission aircraft, and innovation.
• Foster greater collaboration across sectors, such as between airlines, airports and enabling infrastructure, like electricity providers and generators.
