Germany’s aviation industry is set to undergo fundamental changes in the coming years as the country aims to become a pioneer in climate-neutral flying.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this on Monday at the National Aviation conference in Hamburg.
“Our big goal is clear: we want to become climate-neutral by 2045, while remaining a successful industrialised country with further growth opportunities,” Scholz said.
Aviation is responsible for just under 3 percent of global CO2 emissions, he said.
“It is clear that this should become even less.”
He added that the German aviation industry was already a world leader in climate-friendly technologies.
The chancellor said that in the long term, hydrogen propulsion would certainly be possible in series-produced aircraft, adding that Germany had wanted to speed up the development of its hydrogen infrastructure.
He expressed confidence that Germany’s aviation industry has a very good future.
Chief executive of Germany’s Lufthansa airline, Carsten Spohr, referred to difficult years during the COVID-19 pandemic, Aviation is back,” Spohr said.
Regarding Lufthansa, he said: “we’re doing great, Lufthansa had received billions of euros in state aid during the pandemic.”
Synthetic fuels currently account for 0.2 per cent of Lufthansa’s fuel consumption, Spohr said.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing said: “no one is helped if we slow down our domestic aviation and foreign providers who are less sustainability-oriented fill the gap.
“That’s why we support our aviation companies and airports to become pioneers in reducing greenhouse gases.”
The German government promotes innovation and research, and ensured fair competitive conditions in air transport, the minister said.
