Addressing Aviation’s Climate Impacts

About the Forum

Flying is one of the most transformative innovations of the modern era. However, it is also one of humanity’s most carbon emission-intensive activities. Aviation is viewed as a “hard-to-abate” sector due to its high carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and the difficulty of replacing the high-energy-density liquid fuels that jet engines require. Aviation also faces challenges from its non-CO₂ impacts, including warming from contrails and pollutant emissions. Rapid demand growth and the substantial historical investment in long-lived fossil fuel aviation equipment and infrastructure add to the decarbonization challenge.

On January 29, 2026, the Clean Energy Transition Institute (CETI) hosted a Decarbonization Forum, Addressing Aviation's Climate Impacts, that convened policymakers, regulators, businesspeople, and clean energy advocates to have a focused conversation exploring the progress, pathways, opportunities, and challenges to abating the climate impacts of aviation in the Northwest.

The first panel, Climate Solutions for Aviation, included presentations from Ryan Faucett (The Boeing Company), Nik Pavlenko (International Council on Clean Transportation), Michael P. Wolcott (Washington State University), Jason Humphrey (RMI), Stephanie Meyn (Port of Seattle), and Lauren Hogrewe (WA Department of Commerce). Participants in the second panel, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, included Andy Billig (SkyNRG), S. Derek Phelps (Twelve), Courtney Unruh (Qantas),  Lauren Kickham (Microsoft), and Tim Zenk (Earth Finance).

The two panels, hosted at K&L Gates in Seattle, were moderated by CETI’s Research Analyst Ruby Moore-Bloom and CETI Board Member Ross Macfarlane. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell opened the event with recorded remarks.

To accompany the forum, CETI produced Addressing Aviation's Climate Impacts 101 as a resource that outlines the challenges, key drivers, and primary mitigation strategies to curb aviation’s climate impacts.