Decarbonisation in the aviation industry is a “non-negotiable” issue even if it means trillion-dollar investments required over the next couple of decades, according to Cathay Group’s chair.

Patrick Healy made the remarks on Tuesday during a panel discussion at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual sustainability symposium in Hong Kong.

He stressed the costs of the future would be astronomical unless all industries do their part to get the world back on track to a more sustainable future.

To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, this means the aviation industry must invest heavily in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Healy noted.

“The energy transition associated with liquid fuels will require four to five trillion [US] dollars of investment,” he said.

“So, yes, the figures are enormous to support decarbonisation. But if this is a genuine global challenge, the world must embrace and tackle it collectively.”

Cathay also announced a partnership with Airbus to collaborate on SAF development on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said he is disappointed that current SAF production levels are falling short of expectations.

To boost SAF production, governments around the world should really think of providing more financial incentives to traditional fuel companies to switch to SAF, Walsh added.

“We are going to be heavily dependent on the traditional companies. Now you could argue we should wean them off incentives to produce fossil fuels and switch some of those incentives, the massive financial incentives that they still get today from fossil fuel to sustainable fuel.

“So going back to what I said, it can't always stick. I think there should be some carrots.”

The IATA's sustainability conference is being held in Asia for the first time, hosting over 500 professional experts and industry leaders over two days.