New Zealand’s national carrier, Air New Zealand, is scrapping its 2030 emissions reduction target, accrediting the decision to supply chain issues and a lack of availability of sustainable jet fuels, among other things.
The carrier said it is dropping its “science-based carbon intensity reduction target” and will withdraw immediately from the Science Based Targets initiative—a United Nations-backed corporate climate action group.
Many of the ways it needed to meet its climate target of reducing its carbon intensity by 28.9 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels are outside its control and “remain challenging,” Air New Zealand said.
This includes the availability of new aircraft, the affordability, and availability of alternative jet fuels, and global and domestic regulatory and policy support, according to the company.
In a statement, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said it has become apparent in recent months and weeks “that potential delays to our fleet renewal plan pose an additional risk to the target’s achievability.”
“It is possible the airline may need to retain its existing fleet for longer than planned due to global manufacturing and supply chain issues that could potentially slow the introduction of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft into the fleet,” Foran said.
As such, the airline will retract the 2030 target, he said.
The goal, validated by the SBTi—a collaboration between the United Nations and other groups, including the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature—equated to a 16.3 percent reduction in absolute emissions over the period from 2019, according to the airline.
The target went beyond a 2023 agreement by the global aviation industry to lower carbon emissions by 5 percent by 2030.
“Science-based targets validated by the SBTi show companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change,” Air New Zealand said at the time.
“Setting a science-based target allows businesses to set a robust and credible carbon reduction target that is independently assessed to ensure it aligns with the latest climate science,” it added.
The airline—led until 2019 by now-Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon—was set to start writing progress reports on its 2030 emissions targets this financial year.
The announcement from Air New Zealand marks the highest-profile U-turn on commitments by an airline to a U.N. framework for corporations to stay on course to meet the Paris Agreement on emissions reductions.
However, the carrier noted in its update that it is already considering a new near-term carbon emissions reduction target that could “better reflect the challenges relating to aircraft and alternative jet fuel availability within the industry.”
“Air New Zealand remains committed to reaching its 2050 net zero carbon emissions target,” Air New Zealand Chair Dame Therese Walsh said.
“Our work to transition away from fossil fuels continues, as does our advocacy for the global and domestic regulatory and policy settings that will help facilitate Air New Zealand and the wider aviation system in New Zealand, to do its part to mitigate climate change risks,” Walsh said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.