Who will lead in the cutting of emissions?

The establishment of a new, high-level group pushing to cut pollution from planes is a good signal — but action is needed. This week, the Government, through Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport, set up Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa (SAA), charged with helping cut a high-profile source of emissions.

The Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan sets targets to reduce transport emissions by 41 per cent by 2035. With road transport responsible for 90 per cent of total emissions, it is clear where the quick and relatively easy gains are seen.

Sustainable fuels and battery technologies are tried and tested for land transport, while alternative means of propulsion for aircraft are technically difficult and works in progress.

The ministry says the establishment of SAA marks the delivery of one of the actions required to decarbonise aviation. It must be hoped the formation of a group is not the biggest achievement.

The ministry also says other actions include implementing a sustainable aviation fuel mandate, still without a timeline, and rather ominously, developing emissions reduction targets for domestic aviation. This regular stream of restating targets, new working groups, and the cottage industry growing up around sustainability can be frustrating, as expressed by business leader Rob Fyfe.

“I see lots of talk about targets, emissions trading schemes, and carbon offsets, but what I don’t see is enough done or people moving fast enough to make a difference.”

When he led Air New Zealand, the airline conducted one of the world’s first biofuel trials in a commercial jet — more than 13 years ago. It’s taken until this year for the airline to introduce a small quantity of sustainable aviation fuel into its planes.

Data to measure progress on cutting emissions and making a business more sustainable are essential, and are required for most listed companies.

The Financial Sector (Climaterelated Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act comes into force next year.

his requires all NZX-listed companies with a market capitalisation of over $60 million to report climate-related risks.

One troubling side-effect of environment, social, and governance (ESG) is that greenwashing and scandals continue to hit the headlines amid growing concerns asset managers promise more than they deliver.

Here, there needs to be a frank assessment of whether the energy and resources going into environmental reporting could instead be developing problemsolving technology.

Businesses should ask themselves if they’re adequately supporting the engineers and inventors who will make the difference.