First year to curb private jet travel impact on climate change - 4AIR

4AIR announced that since launching in January 2021, it has helped private jet owners, operators and passengers voluntarily offset or reduce more than 1 million metric tons of CO2 through the use of verified carbon offsets and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), dramatically reducing the private aviation industry’s impact on the climate. In total, 4AIR programs have:

• Facilitated more than 250,000 carbon-neutral flight hours, reducing the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by jets during flight;
• Offset more than 80,000 emissions-neutral flight hours, accounting not only for CO2 but also for non-carbon emissions that affect the climate such as soot, water vapor and contrails;
• Made possible more than 125 million carbon neutral flight miles, the equivalent of 262 round trips to the moon.

“Climate change is the greatest sustainability challenge we face, and it is critical that we do everything we can to offset or reduce emissions of CO2 and other pollutants that affect the climate,” said 4AIR President Kennedy Ricci. “Our goal is to help aviation stakeholders become part of the solution to climate change, and the strong response to our programs during 2021 convinces us that aviation is willing to be a leader in the sustainability space.”

During its first year, 4AIR launched increasingly progressive ratings programs to promote sustainability through carbon neutrality via carbon offsets, emissions neutrality via offsets and actual emissions reduction through measures such as SAF. Its programs have attracted participation from stakeholders across the private aviation spectrum. These include some of the world’s most prominent fractional, jet card and charter travel providers as well as aircraft management companies, corporate flight departments, individuals, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), airports and fixed base operators (FBOs).

Other 4AIR initiatives during 2021 included:

• Helping private aircraft users find SAF regardless of the airport, FBO or fuel provider. The 4AIR SAF aggregator, accessed via a live, open-source map, benefits not only 4AIR clients but the industry as a whole since anyone can use it to find SAF availability, which varies because of limited distribution. 
• Becoming the first private aviation industry participant to make a trade on the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE), a centralized platform on which airlines and other aviation stakeholders can trade carbon offsets to reduce the climate impact of their flights. Carbon offset credits typically support emissions reduction projects including those, such as renewable energy and nature-based projects in developing nations, that also generate social and societal benefits. 
• Supporting on behalf of its partners carbon offset projects that not only reduce emissions but also align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the global goals for people and planet. Each carbon offset credit reflects independently-verified reductions or avoidances of one metric ton of carbon dioxide (mtCO2) through real projects. Projects supported by 4AIR include deforestation prevention and forest preservation in Kenya, clean wind-generated electricity in the upper Midwest United States and high-efficiency cooking stoves reducing the amount of wood needed for cooking, among dozens of other projects; 
• Promoting awareness and education of sustainability by offsetting the impact of major aviation industry events such as Corporate Jet Investor Miami and the National Business Aviation Association’s annual Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas. 4AIR also extends awareness by offsetting and supplying SAF to private flights arriving and departing from major private fly-in events such as Monterey Car Week. 
• Entering into a partnership with the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA), led by the University of Cambridge, to develop interactive, evidence-based tools to engage decision-makers, the aviation industry and the public about how to achieve the ultimate goal of Net Zero Flight, under which flight activity would generate no additional climate-changing emissions.

“We are helping private jet owners, operators and passengers reduce their carbon footprint through effective, market-based programs with real impact,” said Ricci. “During 2022, we want to further expand access to our initiatives, continue to grow the number of participants and offer increasingly robust solutions to climate challenges. We all want to do right by the environment, and these programs offer attractive ways for aviation stakeholders to engage and offset or even reduce the emissions their flights produce.”