This report provides guidance for banks on engaging with policymakers and industry stakeholders to accelerate the decarbonization of the aviation sector, a hard-to-abate industry characterized by long asset lifecycles, high capital intensity, and limited commercially viable low-carbon alternatives.

The report examines the principal barriers to aviation decarbonization and identifies four key transition levers: scaling sustainable aviation fuel, improving aircraft and engine efficiency, optimizing operational and air traffic management, and developing zero-emission aircraft technologies. For each lever, it outlines the main technological, financial, and regulatory challenges that constrain investment and deployment.

Intended as a practical resource for banks’ policy engagement activities, the publication sets out a series of policy recommendations designed to improve the bankability of aviation transition projects and mobilize private capital at scale.