Policy Leadership Series with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby
A conversation with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on the airline's decarbonization strategy and the future of the industry
Event Details
On May 11, 2021, Resources for the Future (RFF) hosted a Policy Leadership Series event with Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines. In 2018, United was the first US airline to commit to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half by midcentury. In 2020, amid an industry-changing pandemic and under Mr. Kirby’s leadership, United redoubled its pledge, setting an ambitious goal to achieve net zero by 2050—without relying on voluntary carbon offsets. RFF President and CEO Richard G. Newell sat down with Kirby to discuss United’s decarbonization strategy—which focuses on developing sustainable aviation fuels and investing in advanced clean energy technologies—as well as a range of energy and climate issues.
RFF’s Policy Leadership Series is a flagship set of events that serves as a public forum on timely environmental, energy, and natural resources topics. The series brings together some of the world’s most influential decisionmakers and policy thinkers to discuss the challenges of our time. Policy Leadership Series events are also distributed as the PLS Podcast series.
Speakers
- Scott Kirby, United Airlines
- Richard G. Newell, Resources for the Future
