With the aviation industry contributing around 2% of global CO2 emissions, efforts are currently focussed on sustainable aviation. It is crucial that investors assist these efforts by investing in relevant technology and supporting companies that adopt them.
In April 2024, WFW acted pro bono as the sole legal advisor for independent non-profit RMI and a working group of banks on the development and launch of the Pegasus Guidelines.
The Pegasus Guidelines is a first-of-its-kind climate-aligned finance framework for the aviation sector that enables banks and investors to independently measure and disclose their aviation investment portfolios’ emissions consistently and comprehensively. Impressive in its scale and ambition, the Pegasus Guidelines draws upon existing standards and is compatible with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance’s guidelines.
Whilst working on the Pegasus Guidelines, we built upon our previous success advising on the development and launch (also with RMI) of the maritime industry’s Poseidon Principles to support the International Maritime Organization’s goal to reduce shipping’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Investors that adopt the Pegasus Guidelines can perform a standardised assessment to calculate their aviation portfolio emissions, which will enable them to:
- measure the climate impact of each investment they undertake;
- adopt a consistent approach to accessing high-quality and credible data when carrying out the calculations; and
- disclose their results annually for transparency whilst maintaining client confidentiality.
The outcome is a unique standard for the aviation space that will have an undeniable impact on the sector as it endeavours towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Having advised RMI and the working group of banks since the outset of the project, the development of the Pegasus Guidelines aligns nicely with our work advising the Aviation Working Group on various ESG initiatives, including its development of the AWG carbon calculator and engagement with the European Commission on the EU Taxonomy for aviation. This breadth of work underlines our commitment to sustainability and highlights our capacity to find and create legal solutions to complex, industry-wide issues in the aviation space”.
Jim Bell
Global Co-Head of Aviation, London
