Meeting the net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 is a “massive challenge” for the aviation industry but it offers a huge opportunity for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector, which is already being propelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, industry experts said.
Investments in the SAF industry and work towards achieving global climate commitments have accelerated in the past few months, as the aviation industry is working hard for a green recovery, said Nancy Young, vice president of environmental affairs at the trade body Airlines for America, in Washington.
“It is remarkable to see that we continued working on the climate crisis even in the middle of the pandemic,” said Ms Young, who was speaking at a How Airlines and Fuel Producers are trying to Fly Carbon-Free session organised by the Energy Intelligence Forum.
“We have seen a lot efforts made by our members to push the SAF industry … things are moving in terms of our expectation as we are working hard for a green recovery,” she said.
The aviation sector came to a grinding halt as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but demand is beginning to recover because of the increased pace of vaccine distribution in many countries.
On Monday, global airlines adopted a resolution to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 as they come under increasing pressure from climate change activists over the effects of their operations.
The International Air Transport Association has set out a strategy to achieve this target through the use of SAF, new aircraft technology, more efficient operations and infrastructure and developing energy sources such as electric and hydrogen power.
“The pandemic created many opportunities for the companies to take a step back and think about the future … it created a point where both companies and countries are now thinking of ways to come back strongly from the pandemic and accelerate the green efforts,” said Jimmy Samartzis, chief executive of Chicago-based sustainable fuels technology company Lanzajet.
“The pandemic was a moment when most of the companies set new climate goals … it [boosted] interest in the future and accelerated the efforts towards the commercialisation of SAFs,” he said.
Under Iata's plan, the use of SAF would contribute 65 per cent towards achieving net-zero carbon by 2050, new aircraft technologies (such as electric or hydrogen propulsion) would contribute 13 per cent, off-setting or carbon capture 19 per cent and improving infrastructure and operations (particularly air traffic management) would contribute 3 per cent.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the “airlines did not stop their efforts towards achieving sustainability goals”, said Thorsten Lange, executive vice president for renewable aviation at Neste – an oil refining and marketing company in Espoo, Finland.
“Public awareness on sustainability has grown substantially and now we are seeing growing climate commitments in the aviation industry around the world.”
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
Quick%20facts
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
