At the Dubai Airshow last month, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, sat down with SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam to discuss what meaningful climate action looks like at one of the world’s busiest hubs.
Dubai Airports owns and manages the operation and development of Dubai International (DXB), the world’s largest international airport, as well as Dubai World Central, Al Maktoum International (DWC), which is positioned as Dubai’s airport of the future.
When asked about Dubai Airports’ environmental strategy, Griffiths didn’t rely on distant promises or broad ambitions.
“We’re not interested in making statements about net zero by 2050.” Instead, Griffiths poses a different question to his team: “What were our emissions this month?” Provided they’re lower than last month, he can see practical progress being made.
Incremental upgrades with big impact
DXB has replaced more than 150,000 light bulbs across the airport with LEDs. The runways and taxiways now run entirely on LED technology. Smarter air conditioning controls help regulate temperatures more precisely, cutting energy use. The airport also recycles all its cooking oil, is steadily working toward achieving zero landfill waste.
Dubai Airports is also preparing to retire hydrocarbon-fuelled vehicles from the airside areas of both DXB and DWC. Griffiths pointed out that the move to cleaner technologies must be anchored by practical tools and solutions before imposing definitive phase-out deadlines.
The SAF challenge
While Dubai Airports is making strong progress on its ground operations, Griffiths is candid about aviation’s wider obstacles. “About 80 to 90 percent of all the emissions are an industry problem,” he says, noting the long road ahead for alternative propulsion capable of supporting long-distance jet travel. In the immediate term, the industry needs to solve sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and consumption at scale, says Griffiths.
Costs pose another significant barrier: SAF is priced at three to four times the cost of conventional jet fuel. As Griffiths explains, “With that significant delta on cost, a lot of people that are not mandated to consume [SAF] are saying, well, we can’t suffer the cost disadvantage.”
He proposes an equalisation strategy to stimulate demand and unlock investments. “Let’s put a small surcharge on each litre of jet A1 so we can equalise the cost of each litre of SAF.” This, he suggests, would help subsidise new production capacity and allow economies of scale to bring costs down over time.
As the lead for sustainable aviation fuel in King Charles’s Strategic Markets Initiative, Griffiths seeks to encourage governments to adopt policies similar to Singapore’s SAF Levy model.
Building capacity for the future
The UAE’s mandate to produce 700 million litres of SAF annually by 2030 signals a clear commitment to scaling cleaner alternatives. With abundant solar resources that can support emerging power-to-liquid (PtL) technologies, the region is positioning itself to play a significant role in future SAF production. For Griffiths, expanding supply is part of a wider effort to accelerate the industry’s transition and ensure that airports are ready to support higher SAF uptake as availability grows.
Griffiths is equally focused on strengthening the organisation that will help deliver this transition. Over the past 15 years, Dubai Airports has run a proactive recruitment and development programme that has transformed its leadership structure. Today, 78% of his management team are Emiratis, a shift he describes as a social legacy for the country as much as an achievement for the airport.
This year, DXB will welcome 95.2 million passengers, with volumes expected to surpass 100 million within two years. Sustaining that growth while advancing decarbonisation demands agility and a willingness to rethink long-established systems.
For Griffiths, the path forward is defined by collaboration, technology and a willingness to move faster than the status quo. As Dubai continues its rapid growth, that combination may well prove decisive in shaping the future of sustainable aviation.
This interview was made possible by CAE, whose commitment to sustainable aviation training and innovation continues to support the industry’s journey towards decarbonisation.
