July 24, 2026

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By Devon Manning

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In the first part of this series, Why Carbon Offsets in Canadian Aviation Alone Are Not Enough, we analysed how carbon offset credit systems (COCS) work and how they encourage a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or offset them, and why they fall short of their goals. The next part of this series focuses on solutions through real technological innovations inside the aviation industry.

 

With advancements made in the industry in recent years, there is optimism that the international aviation industry can reduce its environmental impact. This will take both industry leaders to innovate, all while national governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) regulate and ensure the corporations are producing positive results from their research and development (R&D).

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Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan 

 

Canada has a goal to be net-zero by 2050 for the aviation industry. This is an aspirational target to be using SAFs by 2030, and will take key actions from the government and the aviation industry to achieve this vision, according to Transport Canada.

 

Following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s aviation sector extended its original 2012–2020 climate action plan through 2022. Building on this interim period, a new 8-year climate action plan was introduced in 2022, setting the sector’s direction through to 2030.

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The Action Plan identifies three key measures that are expected to have the greatest environmental impact:

• Fleet Renewals and Upgrades

• More Efficient Air Operations

• Improved Capabilities in Air Traffic Management (Transport Canada, 2025)

 

These measures align with broader international commitments established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

 

In October 2010, ICAO adopted Resolution A37-19, which set voluntary global goals for aviation emissions, including:

• A global annual average fuel efficiency improvement of 2 percent by 2020

• A medium-term goal of keeping the annual global net carbon emissions from international aviation from 2020 onward

• A global goal of 2 percent annual fuel efficiency improvement from 2021 to 2050 (Transport Canada, 2025).

 

Canada’s aviation climate action plans are designed in part to support and operationalize these international targets at the national level.

 

Under Canada’s earlier aviation climate Action Plan (2012–2022), these measures were expected to contribute to the federal government’s economy-wide target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, a goal established under Canada’s international climate commitments, while also supporting ICAO’s global emissions objectives (Transport Canada, Canada’s Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation).

 

Canada is the second-largest country in the world, by landmass, with a population of 41.9 million spread across 9 million square kilometres (km²). This makes air transportation essential to the nation’s domestic and international trade, and to connecting Canadians across the country and globally. Canada’s air industry serves remote communities too, where often it’s the only means to move people and/or basic commodities.

 

The average distances flown domestically per passenger are considerably higher in Canada than in countries with a smaller landmass. For example, in 2009:

• The domestic average distance per passenger flown was about 1325 KMs in Canada, compared to about 425 KMs in the UK

• The domestic average distance per tonne of cargo flown in Canada was about 1050 KMs compared to about 385 KMs in the UK  (Transport Canada, 2025)

 

The aviation industry is crucial to both the economic viability of Canada on the international stage, but also as a vital resource to communities, big or small, within the country. Therefore, it is important for everyone at every level to share the common interests of a net-zero aviation industry by 2050. In Canada, many industry leaders have stepped up and invested both in in-air operations as well as on the ground processes.

 

For example, NAV CANADA, “the private corporation that operates Canada’s civil air navigation service, “invested over $1.7 billion since 1996 to modernize Canada’s air navigation system” (Transport Canada, 2025). These investments help to improve safety and operational efficiency, and have reduced aircraft fuel burn and GHG emissions.

 

Many Canadian aerospace companies recognize the importance of investing in a range of sustainable technology areas, and this includes “alternative propulsion systems, greener aircraft systems, and novel aircraft designs. For example, in 2021 Pratt & Whitney Canada announced its plans to demonstrate a new hybrid-electric propulsion system on the Canadian-made Dash 8-400 aircraft to reduce fuel burn and emissions by 30 percent” (Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, 2022-2030, P. 12).

 

At the operational level, WestJet has begun integrating sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), becoming one of the first Canadian carriers to purchase domestically supplied SAF as part of its net-zero strategy. 

 

Meanwhile, Bombardier has committed to covering flight operations with SAF, achieving estimated emissions reductions of 20–25% for fuel-related activities. Collaborative initiatives are also emerging across the aviation sector, including partnerships between Airbus Canada, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and SAF+ to develop next-generation fuels and test 100% SAF compatibility in aircraft.

 

The Action Plan has become the framework for Canada’s Aviation industry leaders to work within going forward. The commitment from Canadian corporations and organizations to reduce emissions and create more efficient processes has been positive, but there is still a long way to go to achieve the aspirational goals.

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Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) — Parkland’s 2025 milestone 

 

As the aviation sector faces structural limits to reducing emissions through efficiency gains alone, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are critical to deeper decarbonization. Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan (2022–2030) identified SAFs as a key lever for reducing lifecycle emissions, making their development and adoption central to the industry’s progress toward net-zero by 2050.

 

The ICAO defines SAFs as:

 

“Renewable or waste-derived aviation fuels that meet sustainability criteria. Technical analysis done at ICAO shows that SAF has the greatest potential to reduce CO2 emissions from International Aviation” (ICAO, 2025).

 

SAFs are aviation biofuels that have a blend of biomass fuels (such as vegetable oil, palm oil, or NLG) and are used as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels that have higher carbon emissions and leave more contrails (fuel burn). By implementing blends of SAF, GHG emissions can be reduced in air travel, and many Canadian companies are leading the charge on producing SAFs for commercial usage. 

 

For example, Parkland Corporation produced Canada’s first batch of domestically refined SAF in 2024, using canola and other renewable feedstocks, marking a major milestone for the sector. In parallel, Airbus Canada is integrating SAF into aircraft production and delivery operations, with hundreds of thousands of litres expected to be used annually at the Airbus Mirabel facility. Collaborative efforts accelerate innovation, with Pratt & Whitney Canada and the SAF+ Consortium working with Airbus to develop next-generation synthetic aviation fuels produced from captured CO₂ and green hydrogen.

 

 

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This chart uses “the Emissions-Fixed 2019 Fuel Efficiency line” to represent the potential baseline for the industry growth trajectory when operators don’t aim to lower emissions by 2050. As explained in the climate action plan, “This forecast of potential emissions by 2050 uses 2019 emission intensity and assumes that the sector will rebound to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in late 2024, and proceed to grow at an annual rate of 2.5%” (P.10). With no mitigation efforts, emissions would double by 2050.

 

There are many potential ways to reduce GHG emissions in the aviation industry. Many researchers and experts in the field have highlighted the need for SAFs and new design innovations for aircrafts, but also have acknowledged that commercial aircrafts will not be fully net-zero in a short time frame (Brueckner, et. al., 2023; Ridel, 2025).

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Diagram explaining SAF production process (Marszalek, Lis, 2022).

BC based refiner, Parkland produced “nearly 101,000 litres” (CBC, 2025; Aviation Climate Action Plan, 2025) of SAF, which was the first low-carbon fuel for aviation purposes produced in Canada. The fuel was purchased by AC. Both AC and Parklands, as well as WJ each are members of C-SAF, which is a joint committee of companies and organizations in the SAF value chain with a joint interest in the production and usage of SAFs in Canada.

 

Though this is a positive advancement in Canada, it is a small drop in the bucket in regard to the amount of SAF required to support a net-zero aviation industry. The Financial Times reported in 2023 that production of sustainable biofuels would need to be increased ‘dramatically’ to reach the aspirational 2050 goals. This would mean that SAF production would have to rise to 450 billion litres in the next 24 years to meet demand of the international aviation industry. For example, the global SAF production leader Neste produced 125 million litres in 2022. The report also highlights that the cost of SAF production is 3-4 times that of contemporary Jet A-1 fuel production.

 

Furthermore, environmentalists have raised concerns that the necessary increase in production of 100% SAF would cause environmental externalities due to deforestation, and the need for large land usage to produce biomass feedstocks for SAFs, meaning it is crucial that industry leaders are considering all possibilities going forward and not just relying on 100% SAF integration to solve the issues of GHG emissions. There are a myriad of solutions to ultimately reduce the overall impact of the aviation industry on the environment, and it will take improvements to all aspects of the aircraft and the ground operations to truly make large-scale changes in such a short timeframe, according to Paul Peeters, Professor of Sustainable Tourism & Transport, Breda University. To Peeters, a realistic goal would be to achieve “80% SAF” across the industry. 

 

New aircraft and operational innovations 

 

In the past 5 years, Rolls-Royce (RR), Boeing, Parkland, British Petroleum (BP), and Pratt & Whitney Canada have been working together with the ICAO to produce more fuel-efficient engines, APUs, aircrafts, and SAFs. This collective effort has shown a genuine interest from the corporate level to achieve net-zero carbon emissions internationally by 2050. 

 

Read more about the innovative Evio 810 aircraft in A New Kind of Plane Wants to Make Short Flights Sustainable.

 

From December 2020 to October 2023, this collective of companies tested their products to run on 100% SAF and had successful results in every part of the seven tests held between the UK and the US. 

 

The goal of these tests is to:

•  Maximise efficiency of current and future fleets

• Ensure fleets are compatible with 100% SAF

• Develop alternatives such as Electric or Hydrogen 

 

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                                                                                                 (ICAO, ACT-SAF, 2024).

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Using less carbon-based fuels is positive, and having fully 100% SAFs being used is aspirational, but according to Peeters, ‘E-Fuels’ are the ‘best’ form of sustainable fuel as they use a carbon capture practice to reuse CO2 combined with ‘green hydrogen’ to produce kerosene e-fuel. 

 

Pressure for systemic change and innovation = meaningful climate action

 

Initiatives to achieve net-zero won’t be cheap for industry leaders or travellers. Consumer demand for affordable aviation travel and lower emissions has raised debates on how to cost-effectively enact systemic changes. Using COCS alone has not worked and also often shifts accountability for change onto the consumer. In Canada, AC and WJ have committed to net-zero by 2050 to align with Canada’s Action Plan through innovation and investments. Companies such as Parkland, Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney Canada have all showcased their commitment through innovative design and production. And investments such as NAV Canada’s, towards the industry, are all showing how Canada is becoming a leader in the modern aviation industry to reduce GHG emissions.

 

To reach net-zero by 2050, the global aviation industry requires coordinated action across governments, NGOs, industry leaders in production and operations, and consumers. In Canada, the federal government plays a central role through policy and funding, supporting clean aviation technologies, advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, and setting regulatory frameworks through Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

 

Industry leaders drive innovation in aircraft design, fuel development, and operational efficiency, while consumers increasingly influence the market through demand for lower-emission travel options and participation in programs such as voluntary carbon offsetting. Together, government, industry, and consumers accelerate the transition while shaping management of cost, infrastructure, and environmental trade-offs over time. Large-scale systemic change can ultimately produce more social and environmental good for our planet and its inhabitants in the long term. 

 

References

 

Brueckner, J. K. and Kahn, M. E. and Nickelsburg, J. (2023). How Do Airlines Cut Fuel Usage, Reducing Their Carbon Emissions?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 16189. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4464603

 

CBC News. (2024, December 10). Low-Carbon jet Fuel Produced in B.C. a Canadian First, Refinery says. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/6a7dX-w4OIo?si=NV4-oc45SGMOOey7

 

Financial Times. (2023, March 21).Can sustainable aviation fuel clean up flying? FT Rethink. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/KNGSOt2aOIQ?si=lrtnt9t2GSTPom9-

 

Harvard Business School. (2025, September 3). Climate Rising: Decarbonizing Aviation with Robin Riedel at McKinsey [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/ZfXbBxBK4kU?si=bd5--O3Hn3LV_GvQ

 

ICAO. (2025). Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).  International Civil Aviation Organization. https://www.icao.int/SAF

 

ICAO. (2024). ACT-SAF Powerpoint Presentation. International Civil Aviation Organization. https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/environmental-protection/Documents/ACT-SAF/ACT-SAF-Series-14-Updates-on-100-per-cent-SAF.pdf

 

Marszalek, N., Lis, T. (2022) The Future of Sustainable Aviation Fuels. Combustion Engines. 191(4), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.19206/CE-146696

 

Transport Canada. (2022, September 13). Canada's Aviation Climate Action Plan, 2022-2030. Government of Canada.

https://tc.canada.ca/sites/default/files/2022-11/canada-aviation-climate-action-plan-2022-2030.pdf

 

Transport Canada. (2025, October 6). Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Government of Canada. https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/transparency/corporate-management-reporting/transportation-canada-annual-reports/transportation-canada-2023/greenhouse-gas-emissions