4 min read

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Apr 19, 2024

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When most people think about the FAA, they think about air traffic control towers, airplanes or airports. Sustainability is not exactly at the top of their list. But while the FAA’s mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, environmental initiatives and considerations also are an important part of our work. For Earth Day, we want to tell you what we’ve been up to.

To facilitate cleaner, quieter and more efficient air transportation, the FAA has several tools — ranging from research and development to technology improvements to policy creation. We’re working with partners across government and industry to put the aviation sector on the runway to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

This 2050 net-zero goal is critical for three important reasons. First, the climate crisis is one of the most defining priorities of our time. While the aviation sector may not be the biggest transportation polluter, successfully decarbonizing it will play a critical role in reaching the broader U.S. climate goal.

Second, the actions needed to achieve that goal will also help improve the quality of life for people living near airports and under flight paths by reducing aircraft noise and pollution. And third, our sustainability efforts are making the national aerospace system more efficient.

For more than a decade, the FAA has invested in research and development initiatives to help decarbonize the aviation sector through the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) Program. Through CLEEN, the FAA works with aerospace companies to develop technologies that reduce aircraft noise, emissions, and fuel burn. The program requires companies receiving technology development cooperative agreements to match or exceed the FAA’s investment, bringing the total investment under the first two phases to more than $450 million. We are currently under phase three of CLEEN, investing another $125 million over five years.

While improved technology is an important part of our plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, we also need targeted policy measures to get us there. The best solution is sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). SAF has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions by up to 100 percent. More importantly, SAF can be used safely in today’s airplanes without the need for costly modifications. To date, more than 450,000 flights have been flown using a combination of SAF and traditional jet fuels.

Higher costs and limited production have been hurdles to more widespread use of SAF. To address this, the FAA has been working with the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture through the SAF Grand Challenge to dramatically expand domestic SAF production to three billion gallons per year by 2030 — compared to an estimated 26.3 million gallons in 2023 — and 35 billion gallons per year by 2050.

Through the SAF Grand Challenge, we have expanded our initiatives to help reduce the high costs of SAF production. Thanks to funding from Congress, the FAA has launched a new competitive grant program called Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition, or FAST. We plan to award nearly $300 million in grants later this year to support infrastructure projects related to SAF production, transportation, blending, and storage and low-emission aviation technologies.

Sustainability is not just something we are helping the airlines achieve. The FAA is working with U.S. airports to design sustainable solutions in airport terminals and air traffic control towers –

like the $27 million recently awarded to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to replace 16 passenger boarding bridges or the $3.4 million awarded to Appleton International Airport in Wisconsin to fund the airport’s concourse expansion, including its solar and sustainability program. Last year, we selected a sustainable design for new air traffic control towers that will meet key sustainability requirements, while also reducing construction and operational costs.

You might not think about sustainability when you think about the FAA. But those air traffic control towers, airplanes, and airports are all implementing changes to help us reach our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. So, on this Earth Day, when someone asks you what the FAA is doing to help protect the environment, you can tell them what we’ve been up to.