COP31: Technical guardrails for policy development: the case of contrails and why uncertainty shouldn’t block action

This event is led by the Aviation Impact Accelerator, an initiative convened by the Whittle Laboratory and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge. 

Run by the AIA’s experts, the event will bring together a broad coalition of stakeholders from across the aviation system, research community and policymaking space to explore the technical foundations needed for effective policy development. We will look at the climate opportunity of reducing contrails, which a growing evidence base suggests could approximately halve the total climate impact of aviation at a much lower cost and over a much shorter timescale than other interventions in this hard-to-abate sector. We will ask why, given the size of this opportunity, policymakers have so far largely failed to engage with the topic and how this inaction can be addressed. 

Drawing on recent work from the AIA, the discussion will focus on the scientific, operational and governance conditions that should underpin decision-making, ensuring that contrail mitigation actions are effective, measurable, safe and proportionate (the ‘technical guardrails’ for policy development). The question of how governments and industry can make robust decisions in the face of uncertainty will be a focus – when is this a genuine basis for caution, and at what point is it simply a convenient excuse? 

Through this lens participants will explore how the research community can provide decision makers with a practical basis for evaluating climate policy pathways, helping distinguish interventions that deliver genuine climate benefits from those that may create unintended consequences or fail to achieve meaningful impact.

Please note: A Blue Zone pass is required to attend this event.