Sustainability in air transport: beyond GDP and job creation

In the framework of the Iberia-UPM Chair, last Wednesday 31 January we held an interesting (im)probable dialogue on sustainability in air transport and the challenges for the just ecological transition of the aviation sector.

The dialogue was born out of Iberia and its sustainability team’s concern to openly raise the challenges of decarbonising a sector such as air transport, and its interest in listening to young students, academics from the aeronautical and industrial sector, and third sector organisations, building as comprehensive a vision as possible about the challenges and opportunities of this transition.

The exchange therefore focused not only on the challenges of reducing CO2 emissions from aviation, but also on the social impact of the sector and the challenge of creating new indicators capable of measuring both dimensions of sustainability.

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How was the session?

The panellists were Teresa Parejo, Sustainability Director of Iberia; Ana Aguilar, chief economist of Deloitte Spain; and Isabell Buschel, founder and director of the Spanish office of the NGO European Federation for Transport and Environment.

The first speaker was Teresa Parejo, who explained that Iberia sees sustainable transformation as an opportunity. She emphasised that the key to decarbonising aviation lies in three aspects: renewing the fleet, more efficient operations and the use of technologies that use sustainable fuels. He stressed that these fuels could reduce emissions by 60% to 100%. In this regard, he stressed that connecting with society is the heart and engine of a just ecological transition.

Ana Aguilar then offered an economic perspective by explaining how businesses should consider the impact of climate change in both the short and long term. She advocated the need to develop metrics beyond the traditional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), pointing out its inability to regulate negative environmental externalities. In addition, he made a strong call for awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In this context, he highlighted the importance of prioritising quality over quantity in employment generation.

Isabell Buschel presented a detailed Roadmap towards climate neutrality in aviation, highlighting the importance of sensible travel use, energy efficiency and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). He warned about the challenges of biofuels and advocated for fairer aviation taxation.

After the presentations by the panellists, a space for dialogue was opened up. The meeting was attended by experts from different fields of knowledge, such as professors from the School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering (ETSIAE), the School of Industrial Engineering UPM (ETSII), as well as students interested in sustainability, which added a wealth of views and multidisciplinarity to the debate.

Conclusions of the dialogue

In this open exchange, the importance of continuing the debate on sustainability in air transport from a holistic perspective was emphasised. It was also emphasised that one technology cannot simply be replaced by another without a thorough and comprehensive assessment. Finally, it was urged to use key indicators to measure and understand the challenges and progress in social and environmental impact.

In conclusion, there was a call to further explore solutions and to work on the roadmap towards decarbonisation, encouraging research and conscious collaboration between different actors and sectors of society.

In the framework of the Iberia-UPM Chair, last Wednesday 31 January we held an interesting (im)probable dialogue on sustainability in air transport and the challenges for the just ecological transition of the aviation sector.

The dialogue was born out of Iberia and its sustainability team’s concern to openly raise the challenges of decarbonising a sector such as air transport, and its interest in listening to young students, academics from the aeronautical and industrial sector, and third sector organisations, building as comprehensive a vision as possible about the challenges and opportunities of this transition.

The exchange therefore focused not only on the challenges of reducing CO2 emissions from aviation, but also on the social impact of the sector and the challenge of creating new indicators capable of measuring both dimensions of sustainability.

How was the session?

The panellists were Teresa Parejo, Sustainability Director of Iberia; Ana Aguilar, chief economist of Deloitte Spain; and Isabell Buschel, founder and director of the Spanish office of the NGO European Federation for Transport and Environment.

The first speaker was Teresa Parejo, who explained that Iberia sees sustainable transformation as an opportunity. She emphasised that the key to decarbonising aviation lies in three aspects: renewing the fleet, more efficient operations and the use of technologies that use sustainable fuels. He stressed that these fuels could reduce emissions by 60% to 100%. In this regard, he stressed that connecting with society is the heart and engine of a just ecological transition.

Ana Aguilar then offered an economic perspective by explaining how businesses should consider the impact of climate change in both the short and long term. She advocated the need to develop metrics beyond the traditional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), pointing out its inability to regulate negative environmental externalities. In addition, he made a strong call for awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In this context, he highlighted the importance of prioritising quality over quantity in employment generation.

Isabell Buschel presented a detailed Roadmap towards climate neutrality in aviation, highlighting the importance of sensible travel use, energy efficiency and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). He warned about the challenges of biofuels and advocated for fairer aviation taxation.

After the presentations by the panellists, a space for dialogue was opened up. The meeting was attended by experts from different fields of knowledge, such as professors from the School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering (ETSIAE), the School of Industrial Engineering UPM (ETSII), as well as students interested in sustainability, which added a wealth of views and multidisciplinarity to the debate.

Conclusions of the dialogue

In this open exchange, the importance of continuing the debate on sustainability in air transport from a holistic perspective was emphasised. It was also emphasised that one technology cannot simply be replaced by another without a thorough and comprehensive assessment. Finally, it was urged to use key indicators to measure and understand the challenges and progress in social and environmental impact.

In conclusion, there was a call to further explore solutions and to work on the roadmap towards decarbonisation, encouraging research and conscious collaboration between different actors and sectors of society.

Sustainability in air transport: beyond GDP and job creation