This event was recorded as part of a live broadcast on 25 April 2023.
Tackling climate change requires urgent action and the race to reach net zero is on. One single flight from London to New York produces roughly 986 kilograms of carbon dioxide, that’s more than most people in Africa, Asia or South America produce in an entire year. But with everybody’s love for travel and the need for international mobility, how can this industry adapt to help save our planet?
The need to address climate concerns and net zero targets will play a key role in the future of aviation. This public webinar will bring together industry experts and climate advocates to explore these pressing issues. Is it possible for air travel emissions to reach net zero? If so, what must be done to achieve this goal and make ‘flying green’ a reality? And, should we fly at all or is staying grounded the best thing we can do for the planet?
Moderator:
Christopher de Bellaigue – Christopher is a lecturer, moderator and journalist whose latest book, Flying Green: On the Frontiers of New Aviation explores the frontier of new technologies in the decarbonisation of aviation. Christopher has reported from four continents, he has addressed subjects as diverse as loneliness and the environment, colonial legacies and religious radicalisation. Building on the success of The Lion House, his history of the rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, Christopher is currently writing the second part of a projected trilogy on the great Ottoman Sultan. Christopher de Bellaigue is a regular contributor to some of the world’s most trusted media outlets, has held fellowships at Oxford and Harvard and has lectured in boardrooms and universities around the world.
On the panel:
Cait Hewitt – Cait is Policy Director at the Aviation Environment Federation. With fifteen years’ experience at AEF, Cait leads the organisation’s UK work programme and campaigns. She has given evidence on the environmental impacts of airport expansion to the parliamentary Transport Committee and Environmental Audit Committee, as well as to the Airports Commission and the London Assembly Transport Committee. A regular speaker at transport, environment and business travel events, Cait has appeared at conferences organised by the Institute of Civil Engineering, the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the Westminster Energy Environment and Transport Forum. She has a First Class degree in sociology and an M.A. with Distinction in environmental philosophy, which focussed on the social justice implications of climate change.
Sergey Kiselev – Sergey is Chief Business Officer at ZeroAvia, based in the UK. Prior to joining ZeroAvia, Sergey led e-mobility in Europe for Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy business line. He had formerly served as VP Europe for leading smart electric vehicle charging company eMotorWerks – a California startup which was acquired by Enel in 2017. A decade leading into this, Sergey worked at McKinsey & Company focusing on energy, sustainability and public sector work in former CIS countries. He was one of the partners opening and expanding McKinsey’s Kazakhstan office. He began his career in high tech industry with Hitachi in Silicon Valley in developing novel information storage. Sergey got his PhD and conducted postdoctoral research in experimental low temperature physics and nanomagnetics at Cornell University in the United States.
Aaron Munetsi – Aaron currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA). Prior to joining AASA, he held several commercial management positions at South African Airways, including Regional Manager for Africa and the Middle East and as its Acting Chief Commercial Officer. For 10 years, he served on the board of Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Business, and after leaving SAA in 2018 he joined the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) for a stint as its Director: Government, Legal and Industry Affairs. For the past year he has been working as an aeropolitical and business strategy advisor to airlines. Aaron holds diplomas and certificates in marketing, strategic management and leadership from the University of Zimbabwe, University of Witwatersrand Graduate Business School and the Gordon Institute for Business Studies.
Maja Rosén – Maja Rosén gave up flying for the sake of the climate over a decade ago. She is the co-founder of the Swedish organization ‘We Stay on the Ground’ and the campaigns Flight Free 2019 and Flight Free 2020, which have spread across the globe. Maja encourages everyone to go flight-free – and talk about it – to reduce emissions, change the norm and make more people aware of the urgency of the climate crisis. She has written the guide “We Need to Talk about Aviation” to encourage more people to talk about this important issue.