Dr Gabrielle Walker, founder and director of Valence Solutions
Dr Gabrielle Walker is an expert environmental strategist and the founder and director of Valence Solutions. She works with global companies at boardroom-level, analysing emerging trends, challenging conventional thinking and driving meaningful action. Through its partnership with the UNFCCC High Level Champions for Climate Action, Valence Solutions participated in many COP26 events in Glasgow. Dr Walker is also a TED speaker, the author of four books and has presented a number of TV and radio programmes. She is the closing keynote speaker at the GBTA Sustainability Summit taking place in Brussels this month.
BTN Europe: We have a serious challenge on our hands to reduce carbon emissions globally and aviation has a big role to play in that. Where are we on that journey?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: At the moment aviation is a big challenge – along with many other so-called “hard-to-abate” sectors like heavy industry and shipping. Basically we don’t yet have technological climate solutions at the scale we need. I think we need to accelerate investment in alternatives such as electric and hydrogen-fuelled planes, and we also need to look much harder at how the aviation industry can accelerate the development of a large-scale carbon removals industry.
BTN Europe: Carbon offsetting, sustainable aviation
fuel, hydrogen-powered aircraft, electric aircraft... what's aviation's
long-term, sustainable future going to look?
Dr Gabrielle Walker:
I think it will look like a combination of all of these, with a gradual
move towards hydrogen, electric and carbon removals. Note that I don’t
think traditional offsetting really helps here. It’s not about paying
someone else to avoid their emissions. From now on the only way to be
truly net zero is to reduce as much as possible of your emissions, and
pay to remove what you can’t reduce.
BTN Europe: You talk about 'unleashing capitalism on climate change'. Can you elaborate on that?
Dr Gabrielle Walker:
Businesses and the capital markets are crucial when it comes to solving
climate change. Capital markets will drive the finance where it is
needed, and businesses will be the delivery arms of the solutions. While
governments are important to set the enabling policy, give a measure of
certainty for the business models and level the playing fields, and
civil society need to give the businesses their custom, support,
challenge and licence to operate, I think the only way climate solutions
can scale at the pace we need is if businesses take a leading role.
BTN Europe: Do you think corporates are waking up to their environmental responsibilities? Are current reporting requirements sufficient?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: I do think many corporates are waking up. Two years ago almost nobody had a commitment to net zero emissions at the latest by 2050 and now more than 80 per cent of global GDP generators have either their own net zero target or are based in a territory with one. But current reporting requirements are nowhere near sufficient. There is too much confusion and a lack of standards and methodologies leave too much room for gaming the system and greenwashing. We need to get a lot smarter about this.
BTN Europe: For many companies, business travel accounts for a significant share of not only their Scope 3 emissions but their overall carbon footprint. Grounding all business travel is not realistic, so what measures can businesses take to reduce the environmental impact of their travel activity?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: Take trains or other alternatives to flying where possible, only do the journeys that are really necessary, and choose hotels and local transport with climate in mind. Plenty of hotels are massively reducing their emissions and water, and there are increasing options for electric vehicles. When you have reduced travel emissions as much as possible, pay to remove the rest.
BTN Europe: Flying for business is often necessary but leisure travel is more discretionary. Should we be thinking more carefully about our own personal choices?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: I think we should all be thinking carefully about all of our choices. But even personal travel brings many benefits including to the parts of the world that depend on tourism. That’s why it’s important to accelerate the pace of decarbonisation in this sector. This is a transition.
BTN Europe: Long-distance and high-speed rail travel is getting increasing support from some European governments. Would you like to see more of that?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: Much, much more! Not only is this sustainable, it’s also a lovely way to travel. I would take a train over a plane any day if I could.
BTN Europe: What's your message to business travel professionals?
Dr Gabrielle Walker: We need to look climate change in the eye, not ignore it. And then put all of our efforts into finding and scaling the solutions. Business travel can be a big part of this by supporting the providers that are taking climate change seriously and have a good climate plan with short, medium and long-term targets. And especially by supporting the development of the new technologies – in aviation and in carbon removals – that we will need to get to net zero in time.