-
| News
Call Aviation to Action hosts successful first leadership peer exchange: What keeps you up at night?
In many years of aviation conferences, panel discussions and industry meetings, this question has not been asked.
The gap between the direction of the industry and the knowledge that is carried into every board room and every strategy session is a consequential silence. So, we asked that question and got a wide range of pathways.
Over the past months, we have been holding a series of small, confidential sessions with senior leaders. Chatham House rules, company hats left at the door, and one opening question: what keeps you up at night?
What those conversations have surfaced is not surprising. But hearing it named, in a room where it can be named, by people who have spent careers navigating exactly this tension, turns out very powerful. It changes something and lifts the a weight of one’s shoulders and it shifts the gear into “How can we change together?”
Four shared conclusions stood out.
- The roadmaps are not the plan.
Aviation has produced decarbonisation scenarios in all varieties but didn’t truly commit to act on them. Many leaders in the sessions have been part of these processes and described it felt like pointing towards something in the distance rather than planning to get there. - The gap is not knowledge. It is the lack of an open environment to speak your mind.
Every session we held had bold, bright minds: people who understand the science, the economics, and the direction of the industry. What they do not always have is the organisational backing to say what they know out loud. Boardrooms are not short of awareness. They are short of safety to speak up and make analysis visible and urgent. - “Hard to abate” is a choice, not a constraint.
The pushback on this framing was consistent across sessions. Aviation has options and they are expensive. The groups concluded that naming the sector hard to abate is a way of naming the price as an impossibility and avoiding the harder conversation about who should pay it, and when. - Small courage is contagious.
In our view, the most energising part of every session hasn’t been the diagnosis of our industry, but has been the examples. Shared decisions taken at real cost, inside the participants organisations, that sent a signal nobody expected.
We know that getting the conversation started is often the hardest part – and many participants described that same momentum in their organisations. Collectively, we thought about three practical tips to still get started:
- Use the question, not the argument.
Open with curiosity rather than a case. A question like “What do you think is stopping us from moving in a different direction/faster?” disarms the defensive reflex and opens the space for an open discussion. - Find your room (and timing) first.
The board meeting is rarely where the conversation begins. Identify a trusted colleague or friend who shares or challenges your viewpoints and start there. One connection at a time changes something rather than always focussing on the big picture. - Inside-out not outside-in.
Share a story, a podcast, a debate as neutral entry point to a conversation.
“Did you see this?” is always easier than “I think we have a problem” and gets to the same place.
To further support you, we are working on practical guidance on how to open the sustainability dialogue inside your own organisation. If you have any best practices that we can’t miss – or would like to share approaches that didn’t work – please let us know. - The roadmaps are not the plan.
What’s new?
Find our latest publications and insights below. Questions? Please get in touch or browse frequently asked questions about our initiative and about our analysis and position.
For press enquires, please reach out to Jimena through community@callaviationtoaction.org or +31 684614483.
As featured in
-
| Press release
Call Aviation to Action featured on Outrage + Optimism, The Climate Podcast
As a global jet fuel crisis unfolds, the structural questions aviation has spent decades avoiding are surfacing all at once. This week, Call Aviation to Action initiators Karel Bockstael and Roxanne van Rijn were invited on Outrage + Optimism, The Climate Podcast, to discuss what the shortage at the Strait of Hormuz really reveals about our industry. With hosts Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson, the conversation went beyond the immediate disruption.
Three threads stood out:
- Our near-total dependence on fossil fuel. Kerosene remains the only viable energy source for long-haul flight today. Batteries, hydrogen and synthetic fuels demand volumes of renewable energy, biomass and capital that are simply not available at the scale the industry needs.
- The business model that traps the sector. Aviation runs on thin margins and ever-growing volumes. Those same thin margins are what keep the industry locked into opposing the very regulation it needs. As Karel put it on the podcast, the industry is caught in a system where doing the right thing first means losing the competition.
- The fairness question. Around 80% of the world has never flown. 1% of people are responsible for half of aviation emissions. Christiana Figueres asked the question that should sit at the centre of the wider travel debate: how do we democratise transportation so that more people can experience different cultures and ecosystems, without the climate consequences?
We do not have a complete answer. But we believe it is the right question, and one our industry has been quietly avoiding. The fuel crisis is not a reason to panic. It is an invitation to finally move.
In case you’ve missed it, you can check out the podcast here – or find it on your favourite podcast platform as episode #363. Karel and Roxanne appear in the interview section of the program, running from 10:10 to 37:55.
-
| Press release
Call Aviation to Action community grows to more than 450 and updates analysis
Call Aviation to Action, a community uniting leading aviation professionals in their love for aviation and the planet, has brought together more than 450 supporters from around the world in the first months after its launch. The majority of the group – some 350 people or 80% – works in the aviation ecosystem, or has done so in the past. Interestingly enough, almost 25% of that group has opted to not have their job title and employer published on the initiative’s website, suggesting a substantial group of people feels uncomfortable to speak out.
Recent developments further stress the need to act
At the start of 2026, Call Aviation to Action also finds its four key actions for 2025 have not been followed up. Various recent developments in science, society, politics and aviation, which have been integrated into the groups’ analysis and background information, however still stress the need for urgent and decisive leadership:
- In its 2026 risk assessment, industry body IATA identified ‘Climate Change and related Physical Risks and Costs’ as highest risk. And whereas its Director General Willie Walsh has questoined the viability of the sectors’ net-zero goals, these concerns do not seem to have kickstarted the transformation the industry so urgently needs.
- An analysis of 20 years of WEF Global Risk Reports has shown that long-term risks, such as climate change is mostly perceived, “persistently mitigate into the short term”. Furthermore, the analysis finds that inequality is the most interconnected risk of all, fuelling and driving other risks. Taken together, these observations underline the observation that aviation’s climate problem is amplified by its unfairness – in which only a small share of people enjoys the benefits of aviation, whereas climate change will impact humanity at large.
- Early 2026, a ruling by the Dutch court (based on an earlier verdict of the European Court of Human Rights and a legal opinion of the International Court of Justice) found the national government also responsible for emissions from international aviation and shipping. This is likely to also spur national debates on the balance between aviation’s benefits and (climate) costs.
- In its December 2025 chart of the week, IATA shared historic and estimated airline profits – never exceeding a margin of 5% and projected to be lower than “Apple’s profits on a single iPhone cover” per passenger. This makes crystal clear that current business models will not be able to raise the capital we need for our industry’s transition.
- The head of French aircraft engine maker Safran said hydrogen aircraft would be “more for the 22nd century”. Whereas this quote could also be understood to simply manage expectations, it confirms the risks of optimistic timelines of new technology introductions.
Supporting the solutions that Call Aviation to Action is proposing, notably on carbon budgets and addressing non-CO2 climate effects in a similar way, ICCTs latest Vision 2050 roadmap was included as the world’s first quantified aviation climate roadmap addressing all the industry’s climate impacts.
Bringing together experts and industry professionals
Moving forward, the initiative will focus its 2026 efforts on bringing together experts and industry professionals, to more actively share their experiences and discuss how to move our industry forward. Fellow aviation leaders are still very much welcome to join the call.
-
| Press release
Aviation professionals speak out on climate
Launch of global ‘Call Aviation to Action’ movement for industry transformation
Today, a leading group of aviation professionals launches a call to action to urgently and decisively address the aviation industry’s growing climate impact. The group is concerned that without a fundamental transition, the industry is risking its own future. A global coalition of aviation professionals is calling for urgent and decisive leadership to address the industry’s growing climate impact. The group warns that without immediate action, the aviation industry is heading toward crisis. They urge leaders to seize the opportunity to transform aviation for a sustainable future.
An intervention based on passion for flying and concern for the planet
Call Aviation to Action aims to unite aviation professionals who are torn between their passion for flying and their concern for the planet.
“We see the good that aviation can do, but we also see that we must reinvent our industry to restore its positive contribution to the world. Aviation is struggling to turn a profit, trapped in growth models and is overly optimistic about the timelines for technology to solve its climate problems. We understand the challenges leaders face, but staying in this race is not an option. Aviation must take control of its transformation before it is forced to.” — Karel Bockstael, co-founder of the initiative, former Vice President of Sustainability at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Four actions for 2025 to reinvent aviation
Based on scientific consensus, the group states that the current path aviation is in cannot be sustained. After performing a thorough analysis, four urgent actions the industry must take by 2025 were identified:
- Set absolute emission reduction targets in line with carbon budgets, and acknowledge the aviation industry’s responsibility for cumulative emissions – as these are the ones that drive global warming.
- Advocate for and help implement regulation that keeps us within planetary boundaries and really drives innovation, rather than lobbying against climate policies.
- Be realistic on the timeline of what technology can bring, and develop a business model that can ensure its sustainability on its own, in time and independent of breakthroughs elsewhere.
- Acknowledge that managing global demand in a fair manner is part of the solution especially in regions that have a larger share in historic CO2 emissions.
Kickstarting the transition together
Core to the movement are the individual actions that professionals working in the aviation ecosystem can take. Speaking up at work is the first one, as illustrated by Karel Bockstael: “We know a lot of people are concerned about the future of our industry and the planet, but mistakenly assume their peers do not. We need to break the silence to address these concerns and encourage our leaders to become part of this transition.”
“Acknowledging that this can be an inconvenient wake-up call, the initiative focuses on mutual support and community-building to help the industry gather the courage and support it needs to transform, for its own benefit.”
463
people have already joined our call
Why others support our call
“Aviation is fascinating and relevant. I can’t wait to see the aviation industry leadership finally getting real about the climate crisis and mobilising the imagination and courage from which flying was born in the first place. The climate can has been kicked down the road for too long.”
Jan-Ernst de Groot, Former managing director and member of the executive board of KLM / Initiator of the 2006 call for aviation climate action
“Aviation is not the only industry that needs to change. But if we wait for other sectors of society to decarbonise first, it will be too late. Aviation is often described as a “hard to decarbonise” sector. If we face up to the challenge, we remove the excuses that other industry sectors can use to delay their own necessary changes.”
Patrick Edmond, Chief Marketing Officer @ Future Energy Global
“For years, we’ve been dreaming about having a network of aviation professionals that are spread over the industry, all wanting to make a positive change towards making the aviation industry less polluting. This call to action comes at exactly the right time, to give all of these motivated people the necessary backing and mental support to continue driving change from inside the world’s biggest aviation companies!”
Louis Lammertyn, Co-founder @ BookBetter
“In every aviation professional who cares so much for the values of flight, there is always serious concern about climate change and our growing impact. That is my takeaway from more than a hundred conversations. Now the time has come to acknowledge this together, as an aviation community, and call for a change of course that keeps us within planetary boundaries, full of innovation and less dependent on growth.”
Karel Bockstael, Former Vice President Sustainability @ KLM
“Navigating climate turbulence requires a plan: Moving from fragmentation and polarisation to timely, coherent implementation must be grounded in a shared vision and aligned pathways to inform planning. This Call to Action marks the first step toward a shared vision. The next step is to develop pathways. Let’s build these together—drawing on valuable sustainable aviation initiatives, openness to rethink mobility, and rooted in justice principles for an aviation sector that operates within planetary boundaries.”
Udeke Huiskamp, Transdisciplinary research manager @ Utrecht University Pathways to Sustainability Program | Former Director Sustainability @ KLM
“In our tremendously successful drive for efficiency, we’ve painted ourselves into a corner – a corner we need to get out of if we truly want to address the climate impact of our industry. I’m excited to see passionate professionals join forces in this initiative to transform aviation. Let’s get started with another pioneering age!”
Bram Peerlings, Researcher aviation sustainability
The sooner we start this transformation, the better. For our industry, as well as for the planet. The sooner we start, the more time we have available for experimentation, and for the inevitable trial and error we will face. The later we act, the more of our carbon budget we will already have spent, and the more pressure we will face to get it right in one go.