New private sector money going into the NetZero initiative. Will it be enough?
What’s Happening: It would seem that the aviation industry through the free market has stepped up its efforts to fund sustainable aviation. One of the most prominent fundraising efforts underway is through the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund. This fund has been getting extra lift lately with more and more industry players joining the fund and committing capital to it. We applaud this move and think that this is how we have been recommending that the initiative be pushed forward, as opposed to being mandated and vicariously paid for by taxpayers through governments. There are a few things to consider, however:
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The amount of participants in the fund needs to continue to increase to offset its massive capital needs.
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Even with a large fund, money may not be the only limitation to meeting the NetZero mandate by 2050.
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While money is really important, what’s most important is allowing the free market processes to take their course and not be hampered by government mandates or excessive regulations.
Get Involved: Do you believe that private sector funding such as United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund is the right way to go for sustainable aviation? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Fundraising activities should continue well into the future.
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Fundraising activities must continue well into the future to gather enough funding necessary to take on the gargantuan task of developing reliable and affordable sustainable aviation fuels.
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It is worth noting that to replace traditional fossil fuels in the airlines, sustainable aviation fuels must be as reliable, cost-effective, efficient, and readily available as jet fuel is today.
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Therefore, the amount of investment and time that is required to develop such alternatives is staggering. Thus, funding will be needed indefinitely, and a massive amount of it.
On Aviation™ Note: To replace jet fuel, sustainable aviation fuels must be ready to take on all of the roles that jet fuel is playing at this time in the aviation industry. If not, it should relegate itself to a supplemental role at the very least, and a substitute role at best.
Money is not the only challenge to sustainable aviation fuel’s success.
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In this newsletter series, we have discussed the fact that while money plays a significant role, it is the natural pace of technological advancement that plays one of the greatest roles in developing any new technology.
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Therefore, with all the money secured now, and well into the future, developers will still need to contend with the pace of technological change. This is one thing that is difficult to manipulate or change in any real way.
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So, we may still need a lot more time than is currently allotted to transition to sustainable aviation fuels away from fossil fuels as the primary means of propulsion within the aviation industry.
On Aviation™ Note: The natural pace of technological development will be a limiting factor for sustainable aviation fuel development for the foreseeable future.
Governments relax the mandates, reduce the regulations, and please cut back on the intervention in the natural process to develop sustainable aviation fuels.
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To develop sustainable and reliable alternative fuels to fossil fuels within the aviation industry, we must take a free market approach. This means that mandates should be relaxed such as that of NetZero by 2050.
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Regulations need to be relaxed to free up entrepreneurial activities and venture capital funds to flow through the industry to experiment with different alternatives to traditional fossil fuels.
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Most importantly, we should limit the amount of government intervention that hampers the activities of private players within the industry to act accordingly to see the development of alternatives to fossil fuel in a reasonable timeframe.
On Aviation™ Note: While some regulations, mandates, and interventions are well-intentioned, more often than not their effects are negative to the natural propensity of the free market to solve challenges, such as sustainable aviation fuels.
Conclusion
They are sustainable aviation fuel funds that are being set up to help fund the development of alternatives to fossil fuels within the aviation industry. However, other factors must be taken into consideration to ensure that the money raised is used most effectively. Along with contending with the natural pace of technological advancement. These factors are relaxing mandates and deadlines, reducing regulations, and limiting government intervention in the process. This will provide the free market the latitude to do what it does best; Solve Real Problems, For Real People, In The Real World.
Thank you for reading this week’s On Aviation™ full article. Do you believe that private sector funding such as United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund is the right way to go for sustainable aviation? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Remember to check out our On Aviation™ Podcast and continue the conversation on our Twitter and Instagram.
Orlando – On Aviation™