Too hard and too costly. That sums up the reason Air New Zealand has abandoned a goal to cut its carbon emissions by 2030, blaming a range of difficulties Tuesday for the decision.
Delivery delays of fuel-efficient aircraft and the affordability of alternative jet fuels were the two key factors in the surprise move.
The move makes it the first major carrier to back away from such a climate target, the BBC reports.
The airline added it is working on a new short-term target and it remains committed to an industry-wide goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 as soon as it can work out a way to fulfill that undertaking.
“In recent months, and more so in the last few weeks, it has also become apparent that potential delays to our fleet renewal plan pose an additional risk to the target’s achievability,” Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Greg Foran, said in the statement announcing the end of the plans.
In 2022, Air New Zealand adopted a 2030 target to cut its emissions by almost 29 percent.
It was much more ambitious than a five percent reduction goal over the same period set by the global aviation industry.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are a key part of the sector’s strategy to cut emissions but airlines have struggled to purchase enough of it.
“The price of [SAF] is more expensive than traditional fuels, and there is not enough capacity to produce that at scale,” said Ellis Taylor from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Other airlines listed on the U.N.’s Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) database as having “removed” their commitment to near-term emissions goals included United Airlines, the German carrier Lufthansa, Britain’s easyJet, LATAM Airlines Chile and Japan Airlines, AP reports.