GENEVA (Reuters) – Europe’s business aviation industry presents its greener face at its biggest annual conference this week, as it grapples with a fall in flights as a result of growing pressure to return to commercial aviation and be more sustainable.
The European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), which is being held in Geneva, begins on Tuesday and brings together all players from intermediaries and aircraft manufacturers to engine manufacturers.
Many of them have faced harsh criticism in Europe for their role in a sector that is seen as generating excessive emissions for the global elite.
CO2 emissions from private jets in Europe rose 31% between 2005 and 2019, according to environmental group Transport and the Environment.
Industry experts said pressure on the industry is mounting from European regulators, eager to push their green agenda, and from activists targeting the sector in opposition to the airport.
Protesters are expected to gather outside the conference venue in Geneva on Tuesday to highlight the growing number of private jet flights amid the global climate crisis.
Consumers also try to limit its effect.
“Today many customers are asking their operators whether they can supply them with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or whether they will compensate their flight,” explains Roman Koc, spokesman for the European Business Aviation Association, one of the event’s organizers. Can.” ,
“More and more questions are being asked about the degree of stability of their flights.”
The conference will seek to make an impact by showcasing industry innovations, with a focus on areas such as electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft and sustainable jet fuel, which emits far less carbon than conventional jet fuel. Is.
Kok said, “Big innovations start in our industry first. And then they come later in big commercial aviation. That’s the nature of our planes: The smaller they are, the simpler they are.”
