Sustainability Takes Centre Stage in Aviation

(Biofuels International) ... The responsibility of industry leaders and stakeholders to deal with these challenges was a major theme at last year’s World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam, and three emerging realities were highlighted as we move forward.

The message of urgency has landed
Sustainability has been in the crosshairs of stakeholders in the aviation industry for a number of years already.

It appears, however, that ambition is being supplanted by real action, with more companies embracing climate-friendlier policies and activities that have concrete results.

In one such major move, EasyJet has decided to cancel its carbon offsetting programme in favour of pursuing actual aviation emissions reductions.

The airline plans to decrease CO2 emissions by 35% per passenger kilometer by 2035 and to reach net-zero by 2050, focusing on technologies like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogen power and carbon capture while validating its methods within the science-based Targets initiative.

Likewise, significant steps toward climate goals have been taken by both KLM and Lufthansa with KLM adding a percentage of SAF to all flights leaving Amsterdam and Lufthansa entering into new partnerships to use and promote sustainable fuels.

As yet another example, British Airways is on what it calls its “most important journey yet” with the BA Better World commitment, which includes investment and advocacy around the respectful use of resources, the development of sustainable aviation fuel, and waste reduction measures.

Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, has adopted new SITA technology and the use of sustainable aviation fuel with the aim of reducing emissions by 15,000 tons annually.

For example, a switch to hydrogen-powered aircraft can only work alongside significant changes to infrastructure, affecting many members of an aviation supply chain.

Likewise, scaling up the use of SAF requires international collaboration to establish and regulate the standards around raw materials, production processes and emissions reduction calculations.

These are things that cannot be accomplished by a single airline, legislative body, or technology provider. Instead, many organisations must work together.

Sustainable aviation fuel is a key player
Last year was a landmark one for SAF with a greater number of offtake agreements announced (as well as a higher volume of fuel) than in the previous two years combined – and by far, the most of any year to date.

According to ICAO, upwards of 80 SAF offtake agreements were put in place across more than three dozen airlines, amounting to a commitment of nearly 3.5 trillion litres of SAF.

SAF is a crucial piece of the climate action puzzle because it is capable of delivering immediate emissions reductions.

While other solutions such as electrification and hydrogen power will also play a role in the long term, full-scale implementation remains years – if not decades – away. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is an example of SAF that is commercially available today, and can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle compared to using fossil jet fuel, while requiring no modifications to aircraft engines or fuel distribution infrastructure.

Flight plan for the future
Meaningful action now, ambitious collaborations across value chains and urgent adoption of technologies like SAF – these are all fundamental necessities for decarbonising the aviation industry. Furthermore, we need international alignment on methods of incentivising and measuring emissions reductions.

If we are lucky, additional solutions will emerge to fill the gaps, .... READ MORE