Air NZ aims to cut carbon emissions by 16% by 2030, from 2019 levels

Thursday, 4 August 2022

Air New Zealand and Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding to research flying zero-emission hydrogen aircraft in New Zealand. (video first published in November)

Air New Zealand aims to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 16.3% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.

That would equate to a required reduction in carbon intensity of 28.9% during the period, the airline said in a statement on Thursday.

The airline’s interim target had been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which is a partnership between carbon disclosure charity CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Air NZ chief operational integrity and safety Officer David Morgan said the company’s greenhouse gas emissions had been reviewed in detail by the SBTi to ensure it had an accurate emissions baseline and science-based target set.

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Air New Zealand is looking at sustainable fuel to power its airlines (file photo).

Key focus areas were sustainable aviation fuel and the adoption of zero emissions aircraft technologies, as they had the potential to reduce the airline’s emissions by about 70% by 2050, Morgan said.

Initiatives under way included a partnership with the Government to scope the feasibility of a sustainable aviation fuel production plant in New Zealand.

Air NZ also had a product requirements document now in market to accelerate the development of hydrogen, electric, and hybrid aircraft.

Air NZ is working on what it calls its NZ0 journey, which has a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The NZ0 website said sustainable aviation fuel was made from raw materials other than crude oil, such as waste oils, landfill waste, or forestry by-product. It had the potential to dramatically reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by at least 80% compared with traditional jet fuel.

”While we believe SAF is currently the best solution to decarbonise our long haul flights, it still produces a residual amount of carbon emissions. Zero emissions aircraft technology solves this by deploying the latest advances in battery or hydrogen technology,” the NZ0 site said.

Air New Zealand's new Skynest sleep pods will roll out in the airline's new Dreamliners in 2024.

“Hydrogen, battery and hybrid technologies are still under development by aircraft manufacturers and innovators. However, we expect to see this technology mature and be a possibility for Air New Zealand from 2030 on shorter domestic and regional flights.”

Continued fleet renewal and operational efficiency were other ways identified by the airline to help it reach its carbon goals.

Chair of Air New Zealand’s external Sustainability Advisory Panel, Sir Jonathon Porritt, said it would be challenging to make rapid and authentic change in the aviation sector.

“A 16.3% absolute reduction by 2030 is certainly achievable, but it will be hard,” Porritt said.

Air NZ said its target was aligned to a “well-below 2C” pathway. The SBTi was developing a more ambitious 1.5C aligned methodology for aviation, which the airline would evaluate once it was released.

In April Air NZ encouraged passengers to do their bit to reduce carbon emissions when flying by packing light to help reduce the weight of aircraft.

But a few months later it was revealed that the company’s new Skynest sleep pods will make its planes a little heavier. As a result, flights will burn more jet fuel than they would without the pods, contributing more to climate change – while carrying fewer passengers.