Aviation is a luxury sector. Just 20 per cent of people globally have ever set foot on a plane. And even among this small group there are disparities in the amount people fly. In fact, just one per cent of the population is responsible for 50 per cent of the sector’s emissions.

Yet, flying is a huge contributor to climate change – and this continues to grow. By 2050, it could represent 25 per cent of Europe’s entire carbon budget. Not to mention the health impacts from noise and air pollution for those who work at or live near airports – often communities least likely to benefit from flying themselves.

But aviation is also a huge contributor to employment – directly employing 11 million people – and plays an important role in tourism and trade while supporting connectivity, including in climate vulnerable countries like small island states.

This is a complex picture. A mix of positives and negatives, benefits and trade offs, all of which have to be considered when it comes to tackling the climate impacts of flying.

Without urgent action to fully address these complexities, the transition of aviation away from fossil fuels and towards alternatives, risks further exacerbating these inequalities as well as causing knock-on environmental impacts.

A just, equitable transition for aviation

One key consideration when it comes to ensuring a just transition for aviation is tackling excessive and unnecessary flights. We know that flying plays an important role in a globalised society. But we also know that people fly to excess. A recent report from Oxfam showed that on average, 50 of the world’s richest billionaires took 184 flights in a single year – producing as much carbon as the average person does in 300 years.

By tackling excessive flying – targeting the most polluting forms of flight such as private jet use, business and first class and those who fly most frequently – and making alternative modes of transport more accessible – we can start to bring more equity into the sector while reducing its climate impact.

But a role as a mode of transport will remain for aviation, and the transition away from polluting fossil fuels to alternatives is well-underway and growing. As such, it is critical that this transition happens in a way that does not further exacerbate other social and environmental challenges, and instead works to build a more just future.

This is playing out now in the discussion around alternative aviation fuels – often called SAFs (or sustainable aviation fuels). There are currently two main contenders for this – biofuels (often made from biomass crops or waste products) and e-fuels, or synthetics (made using green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy, and captured carbon dioxide).

In our latest briefing – produced alongside our NGO partner Opportunity Green, we’ve been exploring the potential justice, equity and environmental implications of the transition to these fuels, and how we limit the potential adverse impacts that come along with this transition.

The human face of aviation’s transition: The workforce

Whether we’re looking at measures to reduce flight demand, or the new roles and skills required to move to types of alternative aviation fuels, the aviation workforce will be at the heart of the sector’s transition.

Lower-skilled and lower paid roles within the aviation sector are often taken by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups, as well as younger people. These communities are at risk of being left behind in the transition unless consideration is given to this in the planning of new alternative fuel projects. For example, in the UK, many SAF projects are being located in Teeside in the north-east of England; a traditionally disadvantaged part of the country.

It is vital that workers are given the access to training, reskilling and strong social protections as the make-up of the workforce changes. And most importantly this is not a transition that should happen to workers. They should be brought into the conversation and consulted early when it comes to mapping the transition.

But the aviation sector is global. These considerations apply across the whole supply chain and a number of vital questions must be asked and answered.

For example, many alternative aviation fuels require feedstocks and other critical resources in their making. Are those companies sourcing critical minerals or feedstocks for alternative aviation fuels – whether crops for biofuels or hydrogen or renewable energy for e-fuels – upholding human rights principles and labour standards within their full supply chain? Transparency is key, and companies and investors alike should be setting robust frameworks and measurements to monitor this and challenge those falling short.

The wide community impacts of aviation’s transition

It is not only the workforce at risk from the rise in alternative aviation fuels. With the import and export of these fuels, we must consider how local communities will also be impacted.

The EU for example, plans to import half of its hydrogen needs by 2030 – mostly from countries such as Chile and Argentina, as well as resource-rich Morocco, Algeria and Egypt. This means it is essentially exporting the potential negative impacts of hydrogen production on communities and the environment to other countries. Meanwhile, allocating these resources for export to the EU over local use could represent a form of neocolonialism that does not align with the goal of a just transition.

Similar patterns can be seen with biofuels. These fuels require large swathes of land, not to mention water, needed to grow crops for biofuels. This has wider food security implications, particularly in a world with worsening climate change. The demand for these fuels in Europe could inadvertently put greater pressure on these vital resources in countries around the world.

We’ve seen this play out in other sectors, such as fossil fuels and lithium, but given aviation’s privileged nature, this issue appears even more unjust as it benefits such a small section of society.

Tackling inadvertent environmental impacts of aviation’s transition

Land clearing for fuel production is also a huge concern from an environmental standpoint. Extensive biomass cultivation for biofuels brings a number of risks to biodiversity, from habitat loss and soil degradation to the introduction of non-native species altering ecosystems.

Meanwhile, as climate change takes hold, pressure on natural resources, such as water and food, will only increase and as we look to transition all sectors of society, demand for renewable energy (and the land required to secure this) will continue to grow. Any considerations given to the use of critical resources and land for alternative aviation fuels – and the biomass and renewable energy needed to power them – need to be weighed against Europe’s existing policies to protect nature, such as the Nature Restoration Law.

In a similar vein, investors should be ensuring they are conducting robust nature stewardship with companies they invest in to ensure they are factoring in the implicit and explicit nature and biodiversity impacts of alternative fuel production.

Embedding just transition in the aviation sector

The transition of the aviation sector is complex, and we need a diversified approach that priorities justice and equity and doesn’t focus on a one-solution-fits-all mindset.

Multiple factors must be considered to ensure it takes place in a just, equitable and sustainable manner. This will require early engagement with impacted communities and workers and adequate funding to transition its workforce, ambitious policies to ensure the highest integrity fuels are prioritised as well as to curb flight demand, and robust transparency, measurement and accountability measures across the whole aviation supply chain.

Investors can have a strong voice in this discussion and we urge them to demand the transparency required from aviation companies and ensure consistent and robust disclosure of the risks and opportunities in the sector.

They can also be important advocates for change through their engagement with policy and regulation, advocating for robust policies which underpin and minimise risk in their investments. This requires a strong foundation of responsible and ethical investment and stewardship practices to foster real world positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Find out more environmental, equity and just transition considerations for alternative aviation fuels, and how we can tackle these in our latest report linked below.

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