In this episode of our ‘Sustainability in the Air’ podcast, Lucca Ewbank, Program Manager, Transport at InfluenceMap, speaks with SimpliFlying’s CEO Shashank Nigam and reveals the often stark contrast between airlines’ public climate commitments and their behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts.
As a leading global non-profit think tank, InfluenceMap uses data-driven analysis to track and asses how corporations engage on climate policy worldwide. Their work uncovers what happens in private meetings between industry representatives and policymakers through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, providing insights into the aviation industry’s approach to climate regulation.
Here are the key highlights of the conversation:
InfluenceMap’s role in tracking climate policy advocacy (2:28)
Using Freedom of Information requests to uncover private lobbying (4:20)
The sustainable aviation fuel feedstock debate (6:40)
Legacy vs budget airlines’ approach to climate policy (11:58)
Industry resistance to demand management (17:32)
Investors’ role in encouraging positive climate engagement (23:22)
Rapid fire! (29:57)
Keep reading for a detailed overview of the episode.
Why transparent climate policy advocacy matters for aviation’s net zero transition
Transparency in climate policy lobbying is essential for aviation’s decarbonisation journey. As Ewbank puts it, “engaging positively to support key climate policies is a great proxy to understanding if a company is genuine about its climate strategy. And investors are well aware of this now. These climate policies decide the rules of the game for the entire sector.”
The aviation industry faces a fundamental challenge: rapid growth in air travel is outpacing efficiency improvements.
As airlines make public commitments to net-zero targets, some of their behind-the-scenes lobbying activities often tell a different story. This disconnect undermines genuine progress and creates a misleading impression of the industry’s climate ambitions. The work of organisations like InfluenceMap helps hold companies accountable and ensures that policy decisions are made with complete information rather than selective narratives.
Moreover, as investors increasingly consider climate risk in their decisions, transparency in climate lobbying becomes a critical factor. “Investors and stakeholders hold corporations and industry associations accountable for how they are influencing climate policy around the world, which we need to reach net zero by 2050,” notes Ewbank. Without this transparency, stakeholders cannot make informed decisions about the genuine climate commitments of airlines.
5 takeaways from the conversation
1. The divide between legacy carriers and budget airlines
One of the most striking findings from InfluenceMap’s research is the clear division within the aviation industry regarding climate policy engagement. “There has been a split in the sector between the positive leaders, which are the low-cost airlines usually, so easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air, and the laggards, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and the International Airlines Group,” Ewbank reveals.
This division is particularly evident in discussions about the scope of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Currently, the ETS only applies to intra-European Economic Area (EEA) flights, despite long-haul flights generating over half of Europe’s aviation CO2 emissions while representing just 6% of EU flights in 2020, shares Ewbank.
Low-cost carriers have consistently advocated for expanding the ETS to cover all flights departing the EEA, which would significantly increase the policy’s climate impact.
“easyJet, Wizz Air and Ryanair have frequently advocated for this policy to be extended to all flights departing the EEA, and are therefore advocating for more ambition under this policy,” Ewbank explains.
In contrast, legacy carriers have opposed this extension, using arguments about costs, competitiveness, and potential carbon leakage. “Legacy airlines have employed a key narrative to lay action here by suggesting it will impact costs, competitiveness and carbon leakage. They’ve also leveraged their support for a much weaker global scheme, CORSIA,” notes Ewbank.
This divide highlights how different business models influence climate policy positions, with short-haul focused carriers generally supporting policies that would disadvantage their long-haul competitors.
2. The influence of industry associations on global aviation regulation
Industry associations wield enormous influence over aviation climate policy, often leveraging their collective power to shape regulations in ways that individual airlines might not publicly advocate for themselves.
InfluenceMap’s research raises concerns about the close ties between the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the UN’s aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), shares Ewbank.
“IATA had significant influence over the development of CORSIA, a policy meant to regulate their own industry,” says Ewbank. “When COVID-19 impacted aviation, IATA pushed to weaken the policy, and ICAO later supported this change, using language closely mirroring IATA’s demands.”
This relationship raises concerns about regulatory capture, with Ewbank noting that “there seems to be a corporate capture of ICAO by IATA.”
Moreover, Airlines for America (A4A), representing major US carriers, has also demonstrated significant influence, says Ewbank. She cites FOI evidence showing how A4A opposed the EU’s monitoring of non-CO2 emissions from flights leaving Europe, “stating that it would reignite the international dispute over the applicability of the EU ETS to international aviation.”
3. The sustainable aviation fuel debate: feedstock concerns and calculation methods
InfluenceMap’s research has uncovered concerning advocacy patterns around SAF policies in both the US and EU.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) raises concerns about the rapid expansion of crops, monocultures, and the cultivation of oil, sugar, and starch crops, as they often involve converting natural land to cropland,” Ewbank explains.
Despite these scientific concerns, InfluenceMap found evidence of lobbying by aviation and ethanol industries to weaken sustainability criteria for SAFs in the US. “Our analysis shows that the two industries coordinated an advocacy campaign to weaken federal sustainability criteria for SAF by pushing for changes in SAF emissions calculations,” says Ewbank.
This advocacy could significantly downplay emissions from SAFs derived from crops like corn, making it easier to meet the 50% emissions reduction threshold for tax credits.
“By underestimating emissions, calculations are more likely to meet the 50% threshold [for tax credits], but they may not accurately reflect the true impact,” warns Ewbank. “These changes could boost SAF production, but will result in little to no greenhouse gas savings.”
Similar issues have emerged in Europe, where oil and gas companies have pushed to expand the list of approved feedstocks. “A recent FOI on BP’s communications with EU policymakers revealed that BP advocated for including food and feed-based feedstocks in the EU SAF mandate’s accepted feedstock list,” Ewbank notes.
4. Opposition to demand management despite scientific consensus
Despite scientific consensus on the need for demand management in aviation, InfluenceMap has documented significant industry opposition to such measures. This resistance comes despite clear guidance from climate authorities like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and IPCC, says Ewbank.
“The IEA’s net zero by 2050 roadmap highlights shifting regional flights to high-speed rail. Its 1.5 degree pathway for aviation warns that without demand management, aviation emissions could exceed twice the level needed to stay on track for 1.5 degrees by 2050,” Ewbank explains.
Opposition to demand management has manifested in various ways, including legal challenges to flight caps and short-haul flight bans. When France proposed banning short-haul flights, Air France-KLM opposed it, resulting in a weaker ban. At Schiphol Airport, a proposed flight cap faced significant resistance. “KLM even took legal action against the Dutch government’s proposal and this was supported by many other airlines,” Ewbank notes.
This consistent industry resistance to demand management highlights a fundamental tension between aviation's growth ambitions and climate imperatives. “Industry advocacy contradicts scientific advice, while aviation emissions continue to rise as the sector strongly opposes policies that would reduce demand and emissions,” says Ewbank.
5. The growing role of investors in driving positive climate advocacy
Investors are increasingly recognising the importance of climate policy engagement as a key indicator of genuine corporate climate commitment, offering a potential pathway to drive more responsible advocacy from airlines, says Ewbank.
This awareness is translating into concrete action, with investors leveraging their influence to encourage more transparent and progressive climate advocacy. “Investors are using their power to push companies to align their climate policy advocacy with the 1.5 degree goal, and assess their targets annually,” says Ewbank.
Shareholder resolutions have emerged as a particularly effective tool. “Shareholder resolutions allow investors to use their ownership rights to raise concerns and hold management accountable through direct board interaction at annual general meetings,” Ewbank notes.
Looking ahead, Ewbank sees cause for cautious optimism in the emergence of industry leaders who are advocating for more ambitious climate policies. “It’s a recent and welcome shift to see leaders in aviation calling for more ambitious policies to decarbonise and reach net zero by 2050.”
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