Th.The Climate-neutral Aviation Working Group (AkkL) was established in 2022 at the initiative of Parliamentary State Secretary Oliver Luksic and Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy Dr Anna Christmann. The Working Group regularly brings together experts from industry, associations, research, trade unions and civil society to develop recommendations for climate-friendly and more efficient aviation. After two years of in-depth work, the AkkL working groups are now presenting the latest results of their work with the initiators. These include specific recommendations for action to be taken by policymakers to rapidly implement measures for climate-friendly aviation.

The proposals include a clear commitment from industry and politics to scale up SAF, new landing procedures to reduce CO2, optimized flight routes to reduce the polluting impact of condensation trails, and continued research funding for the aviation industry.

Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport:

Air traffic is growing worldwide. It is therefore all the more important that we now set the course for a forward-looking aviation industry. This can only be achieved by working hand-in-hand with industry and the transport sector, because we want to remain a competitive aviation location in the future and drive the development of aviation with innovations ‘Made in Germany’. To achieve this, we need solutions that avoid distortions of competition and carbon leakage, while at the same time securing value chains and jobs in Germany. The results of the AKKL help us identify key areas in which we can quickly and effectively reduce emissions. We will examine these quickly and want to implement all expedient measures as soon as possible.

Dr Anna Christmann, Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy:

Over the past two years, the Climate-neutral Aviation Working Group (AkkL) has shown that the stakeholders from industry, politics, the scientific community and civil society have worked together constructively to find solutions for more sustainable aviation. This cross-sectoral commitment is unique and an important basis for further decarbonizing aviation in the coming years. It has also helped identify solutions to reduce the climate impact of condensation trails as part of the ‘100 Flights Programme’. The Uplift programme has made it possible to establish an open flying test platform for research into sustainable propulsion concepts that is available to the entire aviation industry in Germany. This is not only an important contribution to climate action in aviation, but also helps to maintain the competitiveness of the aviation industry in Germany. Building on these first steps, the findings of the AkkL should be further incorporated into concrete policy.

The detailed report on the results of the three working groups – the SAF, Technology and Efficient Air Transport working groups – can be found at www.bmdv.bund.de/akkl

Event announcement: Oliver Luksic and Dr Anna Christmann will discuss the results at the ILA Berlin Air Show on 5 June from 12 noon with the members of the AkkL working groups:
https://ila-berlin.de/de/programm#eventdate--707a0622-4f00-4933-b612-0234e7174b36

Kind regards,
Press Division