Airlines not switching quickly enough to green jet fuel, says study
BRUSSELS, 22 days ago
Most of the world's airlines are not doing enough to switch to sustainable jet fuel, reported Reuters, citing a study by Brussels-based advocacy group Transport and Environment.
The study by this European group also found that there was too little investment by oil producers in the transition.
Transport and Environment pointed out that the airline sector was 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," said its aviation policy manager Francesco Catte.
As it stands, SAF makes up about 1% 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 fuels.
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.
But 87% 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, reported Reuters.
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% 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.
