India and like-minded countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Ethiopia, and the UAE are expected to seek an international financing mechanism and technology transfer before quantifiable goals for the net zero target for the global aviation sector are adopted.
According to an Indian official: “The crux of the transition will be technology for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which will cost billions of dollars. India is committed to decarbonisation but quantifiable goals should be preceded by the availability of funds for emerging countries to make the switch. They will otherwise pay for the green washing of historical emissions by developed nations.”
“Developed nations have subsidies and tax concessions that will not be available to Indian carriers, causing market disparity,” the official added.
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is focused on increasing the use of SAF to gradually replace jet fuel by adopting the net zero target by 2050.
Emerging nations with large aviation sectors such as India are wary of the imposition of such targets.
Shefali Juneja, India’s ICAO representation said: “India’s main concerns are that any ambitious quantifiable goal of SAF will inflate fares and cause market disparity affecting the growth of aviation in India and other developing countries. The production of SAF is at a nascent stage globally and trillions of dollars are needed for this transition.”
India is seeking a timeline beyond 2050 for such decarbonisation and is more comfortable with 2070.