Aviation can achieve Net-Zero by 2050 if immediate action is taken, says University of Cambridge report

Cambridge University has today released a groundbreaking report outlining a five-year roadmap to help the aviation sector achieve net-zero climate impact by 2050.

Despite ambitious pledges from governments and industry, the aviation sector remains significantly off course in its efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The report, titled “Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation,” outlines four 2030 Sustainable Aviation Goals—specific, actionable steps that must be initiated immediately and completed within five years if the aviation sector is to be on track to achieve net-zero by 2050.

The 2030 Goals outlined in the report are:

• Accelerating the deployment of a global contrail avoidance system, which could reduce aviation’s climate impact by up to 40%. This would involve the immediate creation of experiments at the scale of whole airspace regions to learn in real environments.
• Implementing a new wave of policies aimed at unlocking system-wide efficiency gains across the existing aviation sector. This has the potential to halve fuel burn by 2050 by tapping into efficiency gains that individual companies can’t address.
• Reforming Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) policies to account for global biomass limits across all sectors while driving renewable electricity production. This would provide the market with the confidence needed to rapidly scale up SAF production and ensure its sustainability.
• Launching several moonshot technology demonstration programmes designed to rapidly assess the viability and scalability of transformative technologies, bringing forward the timeline for their deployment.

The report stresses that if these actions are initiated immediately and completed within five years, the aviation sector can put itself on the track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The report was developed by the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) - a project led by the University of Cambridge, hosted by the University’s Whittle Laboratory and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). The report will be presented to industry leaders at events hosted by the Sustainable Markets Initiative as part of New York Climate Week.

The Whittle Laboratory is a world-leading research centre specialising in flight and energy. Partnering with the world’s leading industries to develop low emission and zero emission technologies. CISL is a globally leading institute supporting business and government to move towards a sustainable economy.

Professor Rob Miller, Director, Whittle Lab says:

“Aviation stands at a pivotal moment, much like the automotive industry in the late 2000s. Back then, discussions centered around biofuels as the replacement for petrol and diesel - until Tesla revolutionised the future with electric vehicles. Our five-year plan is designed to accelerate this decision point in aviation, setting it on a path to achieve net-zero by 2050”

Eliot Whittington, Executive Director at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership says:

“Too often the discussions about how to achieve sustainable aviation lurch between overly optimistic thinking about current industry efforts and doom-laden cataloguing of the sector’s environmental evils. The Aviation Impact Accelerator modelling has drawn on the best available evidence to show that there are major challenges to be navigated if we’re to achieve net zero flying at scale, but that it is possible.  With focus and a step change in ambition from governments and business we can address the hurdles, unlock sustainable flying and in doing so build new industries and support wider economic change.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) is a global initiative led by the University of Cambridge that brings together experts from across the aviation industry to accelerate the sector's transition to net-zero emissions. Its goal is to develop interactive tools and models that assist stakeholders—governments, industry leaders, and the public—in understanding and exploring pathways to sustainable aviation. By focusing on technological innovation, policy development, and environmental impact, the AIA aims to speed up progress toward zero-emission flight.

The AIA is co-led by the Whittle Laboratory and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Partners include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, the Royal Air Force, Stratos, Emirates, 4Air, Flexjet, the UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, the UK Department for Transport, Breakthrough Energy, the Sustainable Markets Initiative, MIT, the University of Melbourne, and University College London.

The Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge is one of the world’s leading laboratories working on reducing the climate impact of aviation and power generation. The Lab has partnered with industries such as Rolls-Royce, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,, Siemens and Boeing for over 50 years and has successfully translated hundreds of primary research ideas into industrial products. Its research has been awarded the American Society of Mechanical Engineers highest honour, the ‘Gas Turbine Award’ 15 times, more than any other institution or company.

The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is an impact-led institute within the University of Cambridge that activates leadership globally to transform economies for people, nature and climate. Through its global network and hubs in Cambridge, Cape Town and Brussels, CISL works with leaders and innovators across business, finance and government to accelerate action for a sustainable future.