The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, has highlighted the industry’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and has announced that its third World Sustainability Symposium (WSS) will take place in Hong Kong, in October. The WSS will see the assembly of finance, energy and policy leaders as well as those from aviation, and will seek to advance the development of net-zero commercial aviation.

“We are at a crucial point,” affirmed IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “Airlines are fully committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But we have not seen sufficient, timely action by policymakers, aerospace manufacturers, oil companies, or fuel producers to support this commitment. This event is an essential rallying call for all those who have a stake in air transport’s future to overcome any challenges in the way of accelerating the pace of this crucial energy transition.”

The WSS will examine practical means of advancing the decarbonisation of aviation. These will include the elimination of barriers to increased sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) production; the sourcing of the funding necessary to cover the cost of decarbonisation, estimated at $4.7-trillion; the integration of new technological developments from both existing companies and startups; and increasing cooperation along the value chain.

“WSS is where airlines and all stakeholders get together to develop the understanding and the policies that are necessary to achieve the financial and environmental sustainability of airlines,” highlighted IATA senior VP sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen. “It is a platform for radical collaboration, involving all disciplines and sectors, and where efforts can be coordinated to bring practical solutions to the market. Decarbonising the airline industry is not just an industry issue but part of the global energy-transition that cuts across the whole world economy. If treated as such, adopting a holistic approach encompassing policy, energy and finance, to agriculture, technology and more, it will be possible to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions in 2050.”

The WSS will take place after the forty-second Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), where IATA plans to urge stronger government policies to facilitate aviation’s transition to SAF, as well as to support the integrity of ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (better known as CORSIA). And the WSS will take place before the COP30 climate summit. The host airline for the WSS will be Cathay Pacific.