Yesterday, BeZero Carbon released a report on aviation decarbonization, which warns that the cost of flights might jump 230% by 2050, unless urgent action is taken.
According to the report, a return plane ticket from London, UK, to New York City, USA, might soar from an average $670 in 2023 to about $2245 by mid-century.
The reason for the potential dramatic price hike has to do with the rising cost of carbon dioxide, as well as the currently high cost of green aviation fuels.
To prevent prices on flights from skyrocketing, BeZero Carbon’s analysis suggests two solutions.
One is the need for more affordable prices on sustainable aviation fuel or SAF, as it will both significantly lower the industry’s CO2 emissions, as well as help manage costs for consumers.
And the second solution offered by BeZero that is to be used in tandem with the first is the need to invest in ‘credible, risk-assessed carbon removal credits’ to help offset other emissions and enable the industry to meet ‘Jet Zero’.
‘Jet Zero’ is a new decarbonization plan for the aviation industry that was just launched this week by the UK government, which intends to completely decarbonize the sector by 2050, while stimulating the production of SAF.
At the moment, the report says, SAF only accounts for under 2% of the aviation industry’s fuel consumption and costs from 2 to 9 times more than traditional fossil jet fuel.
But even though the prices of SAF are expected to gradually go down as the demand for the greener alternative rises, BeZero’s report shows that SAF and other low-carbon fuels will still not be able to completely replace fossil fuels in the industry by mid-century.
Hence, there will still be a need to offset the high emissions of burning kerosene, which can be done if airlines and major operators were to invest in carbon removal solutions.
Read more: United Airlines Launches New $100M Fund For Sustainable Aviation Fuel
