From the paper’s introduction:
“The European Union stands at a critical inflection point. As underscored by both the Letta and Draghi reports, Europe must move beyond a fragmented and reactive approach to innovation and competitiveness. The European Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal (CID) offers a unique opportunity to shift toward a more strategic, future-facing industrial policy. For the CID to fulfil its potential in supporting strategic sectors and enabling transformative innovation, policymakers must engage more deeply with industry, place a stronger focus on the specific needs of deep tech companies – often the main drivers of innovation – and take bold, coordinated action.
“Demand for air travel in Europe remains strong and is expected to grow, with Eurocontrol forecasting an average annual growth rate of 1.6% until 2050. Meanwhile Europe, with its strong and innovative sustainable aviation sector, is well positioned to lead a transformation in how and where we fly. The continent boasts a strong cohort of ambitious disruptors working to bring sustainable aircraft technologies to market. It is also home to a globally respected safety and certification authority, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which has taken an internationally pioneering role in developing regulatory frameworks for electric and hybrid aircraft.”
The industry’s CLIMBING. FAST. advocacy campaign highlights business aviation’s leadership on sustainability, reflected in its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Business aviation has a long track record of success in emissions reduction, having slashed carbon output by 40% in just four decades. The industry has been an incubator and early adopter of a host of sustainability innovations.
