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Most of the world’s airlines are not doing enough to switch to sustainable jet fuel, according to a study by Brussels-based advocacy group Transport and Environment, which also found too little investment by oil producers in the transition.
The airline sector is calling for more production of the fuel, which can be made from materials such as wood chips and used cooking oil.
“Unfortunately, airlines at the moment are not on the trajectory to have meaningful emissions reduction because they’re not buying enough sustainable aviation fuel,” Transport and Environment aviation policy manager Francesco Catte said.
As it stands, SAF makes up about 1 per cent of aviation fuel use on the global market, which needs to increase for airlines to meet carbon emission reduction targets. The fuel can cost between two to five times more than regular jet fuel.
A lack of investment by major oil players, who have the capital to build SAF processing facilities, is hampering the market’s growth, the study says.
In its ranking, Transport and Environment pointed to Air France-KLM, United Airlines and Norwegian as some of the airlines that have taken tangible steps to buy sustainable jet fuel, particularly its synthetic, cleaner burning version.
Last month, Vistara operated a wide-body aircraft on a long-haul international route using sustainable aviation fuel, first time for an Indian airline. A blend of 30 per cent SAF and 70 per cent conventional jet fuel was used on a ferry flight between Charleston International Airport, South Carolina to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, which resulted in the reduction of approximately 1,50,000 pounds of CO2 emissions over the fuel’s life cycle.
But 87 per cent are failing to make meaningful efforts, the ranking shows, and even those who are trying could miss their own targets without more investment. Airlines such as Italy’s ITA Airways, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, and Portugal’s TAP have done very little to secure SAF in the coming years, the ranking shows.
A TAP spokesperson said the airline was the first to fly in Portugal with SAF in July 2022, “and is committed to flying with 10 per cent SAF in 2030”.
“While we would have liked to increase our investment in SAF, the low availability…and high costs…have limited our ability to do so, considering also our start up condition,” an ITA spokesperson said.
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