IATA Champions Sustainability in African Aviation at AFRAA 2024 Summit
Willie Walsh highlights the critical role of net zero emissions by 2050 for African aviation at the AFRAA AGA.
Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA, addressed the critical issue of sustainability in African aviation during his speech at the AFRAA 56th Annual General Assembly. He underscored that achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is the biggest challenge facing the aviation industry.
“By 2050 we must be at net zero carbon emissions. This is existential to our future growth, the health of our planet, and the prosperity of people everywhere who depend on aviation,” Walsh stated.
He acknowledged that the journey towards this goal will involve many political twists and turns, but he emphasised that the course to achieve net zero carbon emissions was set in 2021 and reversing it is not an option.
For Africa, Walsh highlighted the significant opportunity that aviation’s energy transition presents for development. He noted that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will contribute more than 60% of the mitigation needed for aviation’s decarbonisation.
However, he pointed out that currently, only a small percentage of fuel needs can be met with SAF, and there is no production in Africa.
“That must change and change quickly. Africa has the people and natural resources to develop a world-leading SAF sector, provided the financing and government incentives are available,” he said.
Walsh suggested that SAF production should be a priority for event sponsors, such as Afreximbank, given their mission to support African trade development.
Walsh assured that IATA is committed to supporting sustainability efforts by strengthening its sustainability team.
He outlined several top priorities for IATA, including building a SAF registry to facilitate the development of a global SAF market, producing and updating roadmaps to net zero in areas of technology, finance, and policy, and freeing up carbon credits that airlines will need to meet their CORSIA obligations.
“As we move along the journey to net zero, you can count on IATA’s support—in the region and from our growing central sustainability team,” Walsh concluded.
