It is time to make energy great again,’ according to the CEO of the international investment arm of United Arab Emirates state oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, mirroring the Make America Great Again slogan of U.S. President Donald Trump. Sultan al-Jaber believes that he is a ‘climate realist’.

This is all a far cry from the heady days of 2019, when the Chair of BP, Helge Lund declared that BP would reimagine energy for people and our planet. BP spent years moving away from its established oil and gas business, but at BP’s investor day in February, chief executive Murray Auchincloss promised a “fundamental reset” of BP’s strategy. He said the company would cut spending on green energy by 70 per cent and sell $20bn of assets in the next two years.

US based hedge fund Elliott Management has taken a stake in BP and wants the business to selling its solar and offshore wind power businesses.

Contrast BP with Lego: Lego is paying up to 60% more for plastic resin made mostly from renewable or recycled material in an effort to become fossil-free, a move financed by big increases in sales and profitability.

Niels Christiansen, the CEO of Lego, has said that 30% of all the resin bought in 2024 was a blend of fossil-fuel material and recycled or renewable sources, such as used cooking oil. And, in contrast to BP and ADNOC’s worldview, these new Lego ‘ingredients’ are 50% or more expensive BUT Lego do not pass that on to the consumer. It comes out of the Lego EBIT [operating profit].

Lego’s stated object is that it is trying to stimulate demand among plastics producers to increase the supply of greener raw materials to achieve its 2032 goal of making all of its products from renewable and recycled materials.

We have ADNOC and BP on one side of the scale and Lego on the other. So, what does all this mean for business aviation?

First of all, you could consider that a sustainability ‘story’ or target is no longer needed. You could take you cue from ADNOC or BP and also point to other evidence such as the fact that green financing is reducing.

You could also point out that the role of geopolitics will continue to play a part and that cries to increase APD will happen – but will not impact usage of aircraft.

You can also argue ‘flying sustainably’ is not a priority among both the public and the business aviation users and point out that anti-business aviation protestors would not change their use of their aircraft.

Or, you could argue that business aviation is looking towards SAF and other technologies to operate sustainably.

However, the reality is that sustainability is a ‘megatrend’. Private aircraft buyers are actively making more choices about sustainable or environmental effects – it is now part of the decision-making process. Many in the industry argue that if SAF was more readily available they would pay the additional to use it.

So where does business aviation fit between ADNOC and LEGO? Somewhere in the middle is the reality; it is still deciding which direction to take.

The pressure is real.

Europe is using regulation to push SAF adoption. The EU Taxonomy leaves business aviation out of the picture entirely. Meanwhile, CORSIA and the EU ETS add complex reporting requirements and create real costs and that’s not going away.

However, whether it is MAGA or MEGA, business aviation should forget ideology, instead it embrace ideas – ideas for the future of business aviation.

There is good news: generation by generation, aircraft are getting more efficient, and even though hydrogen and electric are still distant options, OEMs are innovating. The next generation of business jet users won’t accept a strategy that ignores emissions.

Europe is perceived to be using a ‘stick’ only approach to sustainability, however, there are some carrots once you start digging into the mandates. On the other hand the U.S. has made a full 180 in terms of its sustainable approach with a removal of both stick and carrot and a positive turn towards fossil fuels. This might shift in the future, but either way, there is no path back to business as usual.

Now have the opportunity to take the lead as sustainable head: the new PM of Canada, Mark Carney, is already suggesting that Canada will leapfrog USA as leaders. We can do the same in business aviation.  The tools are on the table. The industry must now decide how to use them.