A Green Horizon: U.S. Charts Course for Net-Zero Aviation Emissions by 2050

Strategic Priorities

The U.S. Government will maintain U.S. leadership in aeronautics by fostering a vibrant, secure, dynamic R&D aeronautics community and workforce that includes government, private industry, and academia. To this end, the U.S. government will pursue three priorities:

I. Achieving Sustainable Aviation

Consistent with the U.S. 2021 Aviation Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Government will achieve its goal of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) for civil aviation by 2050. It will employ simultaneous lines-of-effort to achieve a future in which GHG emissions will fall to net-zero using cost-effective, efficient approaches. These approaches include: (1) new aircraft and engine technologies to greatly improve environmental performance; (2) operational improvements to substantially reduce energy use and environmental impacts; (3) widespread domestic production and adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF); and (4) exploration and implementation of new and advanced fuels.

The development and introduction of new aircraft and engines is critical to increasing energy efficiency and reducing pollutants as demand for air transportation continues to grow. The U.S. Government will coordinate with aviation stakeholders to support the adoption of these new technologies by airlines. This new generation of efficient low-emissions aircraft will directly support the sustainability of aviation, while increasing the competitiveness of U.S. aviation products globally.

As demand for aviation services grows, new operational technologies and practices are required to avoid congestion and inefficient operations. Opportunities remain for continued investment in infrastructure and air traffic management tools, and improvements in all phases of flight (surface, takeoff, cruise, and landing operations) to reduce the consumption of fuel and yield efficiencies in regional and nationwide operations.

The U.S. Government will accelerate the development, testing, and certification of SAF, with a focus on “drop-in” jet fuels, which are fuels created from renewable resources that mimic the chemistry of petroleum jet fuel and can be used in today’s aircraft and engines. Consistent with the SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap [4], the United States will increase the production of SAF to at least 3 billion gallons per year by 2030, a necessary first step toward the SAF industry providing 35 billion gallons of SAF by 2050. The widespread development of SAF will ensure that key sectors, including aviation, play significant roles in the transition to a net-zero carbon future, ensuring environmental justice, job retention, and economic growth across the United States. Efforts to incentivize the use of SAF are already underway through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (Pub. L 117-169)[5].

The U.S. Government will also phase out 100 low lead aviation gasoline (100LL avgas) known to cause harmful lead emissions. Significant strides have been made in developing, testing, and certifying leadfree replacement fuels. The U.S. Government is committed to continuing to chart a path to lead-free fuel for piston aircraft through the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) Initiative.

Finally, the U.S. Government will improve the scientific understanding of the climate impacts of nonCO2 aircraft emissions, such as aviation-induced cloudiness. It also will continue to lead development of technologies and science-based decision support tools to help mitigate emissions of conventional pollutants and these non-CO2 climate impacts.

[1] Federal Aviation Administration. “The Economic Impact U.S. Civil Aviation: 2020”. https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-08/2022-APL-038%202022_economic%20impact_report.pdf. Released August 2022

[2] International Trade Administration. “Leading Economic Indicators Aerospace Industry”. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.trade.gov/leading-economic-indicators-aerospace-industry

[3] Federal Aviation Administration. “United States 2021 Aviation Climate Action Plan”. https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2021-11/Aviation_Climate_Action_Plan.pdf. Released November 2021

p4] Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge Roadmap: Flight Plan for Sustainable Aviation Fuel”. September 2022. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/beto-saf-gc-roadmap-report-sept-2022.pdf