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At the Airline Economics conference in Dublin, which brings together the world’s largest aircraft owners, it was agreed that greener fuel was the only way for airlines to meet strict global carbon emission targets. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) rely on feedstocks to reduce emissions by up to 80% from conventional fuel. However, the SAF industry makes less than 1% of fuel used and costs between three to five times more than traditional jet fuel.

As indicated at the conference by Aengus Kelly, chief executive of lease giant AerCap, the transition could require investments of $1.5 trillion over 30 years. Willie Walsh from IATA, told the conference that ‘there has to be greater sharing of the burden to ensure that the industry, everybody can make it to net zero.’  On top of that, some airlines called on the EU to do more to catch up with the US, where the Inflation Reduction Act is spurring spending. Leigh Hudson, IAG’s sustainable fuels and carbon manager, indicated that, with the right policy support, 30 SAF plants could be built across Europe over the next eight years.

CLECAT particularly welcomed the ReFuel EU Aviation proposal, which aims at accelerating aviation’s decarbonisation through sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). So far, the European Parliament and the Council have not reached an agreement in 2022, meaning that negotiations will continue under the Sweden EU Council Presidency. Under the Regulation, all aircraft departing from an EU airport would be required to refuel using rising quantities of SAFs. At the moment, the European Parliament and Council differ on what percentage of SAFs should be mandated – the Parliament wants 85% by 2050 while the Council has stuck with the Commission’s suggestion of 63% – and what feedstocks should be designated as “sustainable”.

Source: EURACTIV