Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa has been set up and tasked with helping cut a high-profile source of emissions. Photo / Supplied
Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa has been set up and tasked with helping cut a high-profile source of emissions. Photo / Supplied
EDITORIAL
The establishment of a new high-level group to push to cut pollution from planes is a good signal. Now what is needed is action.
This week the Government, through Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport, set up Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa, charged with helping cut a high-profile source of emissions.
This group comprises aviation industry leaders and representatives of government agencies and is tasked with cutting back emissions from domestic aviation, currently 6.3 per cent of total transport emissions. The Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan sets targets to reduce transport emissions by 41 per cent by 2035. With road transport responsible for 90 per cent of total emissions, it is clear where the quick and relatively easy gains are seen.
Sustainable fuels and battery technologies are tried and tested for land transport, while alternative means of propulsion for aircraft are technically far more difficult and still works in progress.
The ministry says the establishment of Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa (SAA) marks the delivery of one of the actions required to decarbonise aviation. It must be hoped the formation of a group is not the biggest achievement.
The ministry also says other actions include implementing a sustainable aviation fuel mandate, still without a timeline, and rather ominously, developing emissions reduction targets for domestic aviation.
This regular stream of restating targets, new working groups, and the cottage industry growing up around sustainability can be frustrating, as expressed recently by business leader Rob Fyfe.
“I see lots of talk about targets, emissions trading schemes, and carbon offsets, but what I don’t see is enough done or people moving fast enough to make a difference,’’ said Fyfe, who is setting up a sustainable aluminum can manufacturing business.
He knows something about getting on with it in aviation. When he led Air New Zealand, the airline conducted one of the world’s first biofuel trials in a commercial jet. That was more than 13 years ago. It’s taken until this year for the airline to introduce a small quantity of sustainable aviation fuel into its planes.
Data to measure progress on cutting emissions and making a business more sustainable are essential, and are required for most listed companies under reporting rules. The Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act comes into force next year. This requires all NZX-listed companies with a market capitalisation of over $60 million to report their climate-related risks.
Chapman Tripp, in an initial cost-benefit analysis, indicated it cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars for the first report.
One troubling side-effect of environment, social, and governance (ESG) is that greenwashing and scandals continue to hit the headlines. Regulators in the European Union, Britain and the United States are now investigating ESG funds amid growing concerns asset managers are promising more than they can deliver.
Here, there needs to be a frank assessment of whether the energy and resources going into environmental reporting could instead be developing problem-solving technology. It needn’t be an either/or but businesses should ask themselves whether they’re adequately supporting the engineers and inventors who will make the difference.
