Speaking this morning at Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) Miami, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said the business aviation industry must pull together to meet its goal of reaching net zero by 2050. “This is a very aggressive goal, and we didn’t pull the year 2050 out of thin air,” he noted. “We considered technologies being developed, and we believe we have a pathway to meet net zero by that year.”
According to Bolen, business aviation has been a leader in technologies—including winglets, composite materials, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)—that will help the industry reach this goal. “Every new business aircraft model being delivered today is 30 percent more efficient than the aircraft it is replacing,” he added. “Business aviation is an incubator for new technologies.”
Bolen is pleased with the Biden Administration’s policies on green aviation fuels, especially the SAF Challenge, which aims to increase SAF production to three billion gallons by 2030, and the blender’s tax credits that incentivize SAF production. He further noted that talks to extend the SAF tax credits beyond 2024 are ongoing, with support from “both sides of the aisle in Congress” and from the agricultural industry.
Besides sustainability benefits, Bolen also noted that SAF boosts the energy independence of the U.S.