Aviation

The industry must prioritize sustainable aviation fuel and aircraft design improvements while advancing novel propulsion technologies to reduce long-term emissions.

Performance summary

– Global air passenger traffic surged by nearly 37% in 2023, with total revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) reaching 94% of pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels from 2019. This highlights a strong recovery in the industry.⁹¹

– The absolute direct emissions were 0.94 Gt CO2e⁹² in 2023 – an 8% reduction from 1.02 Gt CO2e⁹³ in 2019.

– The industry has decreased emission intensity by 3%⁹⁴ in the last five years.

– In 2023, SAF volumes reached over 600 million litres (0.5 Mt), double the 300 million litres (0.25 Mt) produced in 2022, but still only amounting to 0.2% of all aviation fuel for the year.⁹⁵ SAF production volume is projected to triple to 0.53%⁹⁶ of aviation’s fuel need in 2024.

– Energy intensity reduced by 19% from 14.9 megajoules of energy used per revenue tonne kilometre (MJ/RTK) in 2020 to 12.1 MJ/RTK in 2022.⁹⁷

Future emissions trajectory

– The industry is forecasted to reduce emissions intensity by 13%⁹⁸ by 2030 and 76%⁹⁹ by 2050, compared to 2023 levels, according to IATA Net-Zero Roadmap S2 scenario. The absolute direct CO2e emissions are expected to be 1.12 Gt¹⁰⁰ in 2030 and 0.47 Gt¹⁰¹ in 2050.

– In the aviation industry, 75%¹⁰² of publicly traded companies consider climate change in their operational decision-making processes.

Readiness key takeaways

Sector priorities

Note: This page presents a condensed summary of the sector’s performance, for a complete view, including on the sector’s readiness for the energy transition, please view the sector PDF here.