Air New Zealand scraps its 2030 carbon emissions target, saying solutions are costly and scarce
Air New Zealand has scrapped its 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets, citing lags in producing new planes, a lack of alternative fuel and “challenging” regulatory and policy settings
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Air New Zealand scrapped its 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets on Tuesday, citing lags in producing new planes, a lack of alternative fuel and “challenging” regulatory and policy settings.
The move by the national carrier — one of New Zealand’s biggest companies by revenue — was the highest-profile reversal yet of an airline’s commitments to a U.N. framework for corporations to stay on track to meet the Paris Agreement on emissions reductions, highlighting the hurdles facing carriers and policymakers in cutting aviation emissions.
“If even Air New Zealand can't do it, it kind of cements the reality that reducing emissions from aviation is an impossible task under the current technical regime,” said James Higham, a sustainable tourism expert at Griffith University in Australia.
Tuesday’s update was a sharp turnaround from a 2022 announcement by Air New Zealand in which it declared itself the second carrier in the world to have its plans validated by the U.N.’s Science Based Targets Initiative aviation framework. It pledged a 28.9% reduction in carbon emissions 2030, from a 2019 baseline, with a 16.3% drop in absolute emissions.
