Christof Rühl, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and a member of the Advisory Board of Crystol Energy, took the stage at International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s 81st Annual General Meeting & World Air Transport Summit in New Delhi (1-3 June 2025). On the panel “Energy Security, Renewable Energy and SAF Production,” Rühl joined Gauri Jauhar (Executive Director, S&P Global) and Rob McLeod (Head of Energy Risk Solutions, Hartree Partners) under the moderation of CNN’s Clare Sebastian to examine how aviation can navigate mounting geopolitical risk, low oil prices and fast-evolving decarbonization rules.
Key highlights:
Transition narrative is maturing: Pure fossil-to-renewable substitution is giving way to a holistic, fuel-agnostic approach that values complementary solutions such as SAF blending, flexible backup capacity and cross-fuel switching.
Paris targets will be missed without deeper carbon markets: Robust, globally linked offset mechanisms—like aviation’s CORSIA—are indispensable for closing the emissions gap as net-zero deadlines slip.
Peak-oil outlook raises price pressure: A looming plateau in oil demand could suppress real prices, increasing the opportunity cost of the energy transition and making pragmatic, cost-effective pathways essential for transport.
Energy security remains foundational: Diversification, market-based offsets and cross-fuel complementarities offer the most resilient route to aviation’s net-zero future.
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