News / Air cargo a key driver towards sustainable development goals

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While air cargo is often vilified for its environmental and economic cost, the growth of the industry is essential to a sustainable future, delegates were told at IATA’s WCS in Hong Kong last week.  

The airfreight industry has been in hot water recently for its contribution to pollution, both carbon and noise. While air cargo has been indispensable for expedited logistics over the past few years, amid Covid and numerous geopolitical tensions, the industry’s fate is more contentious when considering global 2050 net-zero carbon goals.  

Chief airfreight officer at Xeneta Niall van der Wouw told delegates that shippers would “use ocean if they can, and air they must”. 

And, until SAF is widely available on the market, likely not for a decade, it could be argued that the industry will have little place in a sustainable world. 

However, Soufiane Daher, logistics consultant at McKinsey & Co, explained: “We might think to be sustainable we need to de-grow, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.” 

He said air cargo was a key driver toward achieving the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals, such as no poverty, no hunger, decent work and economic growth and industry, innovation and infrastructure.  

“We tend to focus on the cost side of it and not the benefits, but we need to think of it in terms of a cost benefit analysis,” he explained. 

“The value of air cargo is something we need to discuss more and more,” added Alina Fetisova, trade facilitation manager at the International Trade Centre. 

She showed that around billion people had been lifted out of poverty in recent decades through enhanced trade, and each 1% increase in trade was associated with a 0.149% decline in poverty in China and India.  

Ms Fetisova elaborated, saying that by offering e-commerce opportunities, air cargo also empowered SMEs, many owned by women, in landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). Currently, the logistics performance index of LLDCs is 17% below the global average.  

“Some landlocked countries, such as in Africa, don’t have access to the same opportunities for trade… it is a very big opportunity to finally start being able to trade internationally.” 

Ms Fetisova and Mr Daher told delegates that removing barriers for trade would thus allow the air cargo industry to grow in a more sustainable and inclusive way. 

But Mr Daher identified a lack of logistics infrastructure, such as warehousing, road links and airports, as a key challenge. he added: “60% of total investment needs are in developing countries…so we need foreign investment, they cannot do that on their own.” 

“We are also working a lot with customs authorities to discuss how trade can be eased,” concluded Ms Fetisova.