Montreal. 20 September 2022. With a massive 1.8 gigatons of CO2 to mitigate before 2050, carbon offsets have an important role to play in aviation’s net zero goal.
Together with carbon capture technologies, offsets will contribute up to 19% of the emissions reductions needed in 2050. In fact, it is estimated that 3–5 billion offsets will be required up to 2050.
But offsets have come under scrutiny in recent months with some observers considering them a license to pollute. Their argument is that if airlines have enough money to spend on offsets, they will continue with carbon emitting procedures and technologies.
“But this perception is wrong,” says Michael Schneider, IATA’s Assistant Director, Aviation Environment. “For a start, aviation is the only industry to come up with a target and plan to get to net zero by 2050. Carbon offsets are a gap filler and just one part of the plan.”
