Wole Shadare 
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Travalyst have joined forces with the aim of providing consumers with a consistent, accurate, and widely available calculation of their carbon footprint from air travel. As all sectors of the aviation and travel industries come together in pursuit of net zero CO2 goals, this new and major collaboration effort will bring even greater transparency, accuracy, and consistency to how a traveler’s carbon footprint is calculated.
Travalyst and IATA both possess a deep understanding of the traveller as well as relevant technical and operational expertise, which will enable the two organisations to collaborate closely to align CO2 emission calculations. This collaboration will focus on both data and standard methodology for route-based passenger CO2 emissions calculations for aviation at scale.
This will include a shared position on how to account for sustainable aviation fuel. “Consumers want to understand the environmental impact of their travels. Both Travalyst and IATA are continuously working to improve their methodologies by incorporating emerging knowledge of climate impacts. So we are working together to provide the consumer with easy access to consistent calculations of the environmental cost of their travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Sally Davey, CEO, of Travalyst, said: “This is the first time that airlines and the travel technology sector have come together in this way. As such it is a milestone moment in the decarbonisation of the sector. In the face of the climate emergency, travellers want and need clear and unequivocal information about their carbon footprint on which to base travel decisions.
“Today we are bringing some of the leading travel brands around the table with the world’s leading airline association, with the aim of easily providing consumers with the most accurate carbon calculations.”
At the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston, USA, on 4 October 2021, a resolution was passed by IATA member airlines committing them to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050. This pledge brings air transport in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To succeed, it will require the coordinated efforts of the entire industry (airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, manufacturers) and significant.
The aviation industry’s net-zero carbon emissions target is focused on delivering maximum reduction in emissions at source, through the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), innovative new propulsion technologies, and other efficiency improvements (such as improvements to air traffic navigation). SAF is a liquid fuel currently used in commercial aviation that reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80%. It can be produced from a number of sources (feedstock) including waste oil and fats, green and municipal waste, and non-food crops.
It can also be produced synthetically via a process that captures carbon directly from the air. It is ‘sustainable’ because the raw feedstock does not compete with food crops or water supplies, or is responsible for forest degradation. Whereas fossil fuels add to the overall level of CO2 by emitting carbon that had been previously locked away, SAF recycles the CO2 which has been absorbed by the biomass used in the feedstock during the course of its life.
It is estimated that SAF could contribute around 65 per cent of the reduction in emissions needed by aviation to reach net zero in 2050. This will require a massive increase in production (see chart below) in order to meet demand. The largest acceleration is expected in the 2030s as policy support becomes global, SAF becomes competitive with fossil kerosene, and credible offsets become scarcer
