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Polski (PL) 60 companies are accelerating the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuel to reach 10% of global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030
Carbon-free energy is in sight in some sectors but progress on abating carbon emissions in the aviation sector has been slower
Signatory companies represent a global group of airlines, airports, fuel suppliers and other industry stakeholders who are making a mission-critical commitment on the path to net zero
Today, 60 companies in the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition – whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) – achieved a milestone on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050 by working together to power global aviation with 10% SAF by 2030.
As aviation remains a “hard to abate” sector in reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, strong climate action from the industry is particularly important as travel begins to return to pre-pandemic levels. Accelerating the supply and use of SAF technologies to reach 10% of global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030 is a significant move to put the aviation industry on the path to net-zero emissions.
This will only be possible through the concerted effort of industry leaders. The following organizations have signed the 2030 Ambition Statement:
Accenture
ACME
Airbus
Airports Council International
American Airlines
ANA Holdings Inc
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)
Bank of America
Biodiesel Association of India (BDAI)
Boeing
Boston Consulting Group
bp
British Airways
Caphenia
Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Cathay Pacific Airways
Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
Deloitte
Delta Air Lines
Deutsche Post DHL Group
Dubai Airports
Enerkem
ENI
Fraport
Fulcrum BioEnergy
Heathrow Airport
Honeywell
Iberia
Indian Institute of Petroleum
International Airlines Group
Japan Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Kuehne+Nagel
LanzaJet
LanzaTech
McKinsey & Company
Neste
Norsk e-Fuel AS
Novo Nordisk AS
oneworld alliance
Ørsted
Praj Industries Limited
Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Pvt Ltd
PwC
Qatar Airways Group
Rolls-Royce
Royal Schiphol Group
San Francisco International Airport
Shell
SkyNRG
SpiceJet
Suncor
Sunfire
Sydney Airport
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
TotalEnergies
United Airlines
Velocys
Virgin Atlantic
Visa Inc.
Signatory companies include airlines, airports, fuel suppliers and other aviation innovators from around the world. They also include non-aviation companies that rely on corporate air travel for their business operations, demonstrating that the responsibility of decarbonizing the industry lies with all those who depend on the aviation sector.
“Achieving our ambition will require commitment, innovation and cross-industry collaboration from a wide range of stakeholders,” said Lauren Uppink Calderwood, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism at the World Economic Forum. “We are calling on governments, international organizations and others to work with us to take important steps forward through new policies, targeted investments and regulations that create a level playing field while incentivizing transformation.”
This statement is also in full support of the UN High Level Climate Champions' 2030 Breakthrough Outcome for aviation, one of over 30 sectoral near-term targets that are critical to halving emissions by 2030 and delivering the promise of the Paris Agreement.
Achieving net-zero aviation
SAF is fully compatible with existing aircraft and is a viable industry solution in the transition to 2030 and beyond. Members of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition are championing the commercial scale of viable production of sustainable low-carbon aviation fuels (bio and synthetic) for broad adoption in the industry.
Actors across the aviation eco-system agree on the need to first reduce, as far as possible, the emissions caused by the sector. This reduction can be achieved through efforts including the optimization of routes, increased energy efficiency from aircraft design and improved ground operations. Stakeholders such as airports can play an increasingly important role in the adoption and uptake of SAF by developing SAF operational plans or kickstarting co-funding mechanisms.
Synthesized from sustainable, renewable feedstocks – such as municipal waste, agricultural residues and waste lipids, or developed through a power-to-liquid route – SAF has already fuelled more than 250,000 commercial flights.
Difficulties remain in getting SAF to scale up production due to its prohibitively high price gap with fossil-based jet fuel, resulting in a “chicken and egg” problem with supply and demand. Costs will fall if production scales up, but fuel providers are facing headwinds due to high price pressure on low SAF demand, and high risks associated with policy and investment uncertainty. Demonstrating sufficient demand and policy certainty will be crucial to building investor confidence, hence the power of this major commitment from the leading companies in the aviation energy value chain.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificate (SAFc) system
To make this concerted effort possible, the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition has developed a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificate (SAFc) system, a new accounting tool that will allow SAF emissions reductions to be claimed by travellers and cargo customers if they are willing to cover the higher costs.
The proposed system also handles fuel supply chain logistics by delivering SAF stock to airports nearest the production plants. With existing technologies and digital demand platforms such as the SAFc, best-practice sustainable aviation can reduce GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis by up to 80%.
The key to long-term net-zero aviation will be to incentivize demand for SAF-fuelled air travel. With this ambitious 10%-by-2030 coalition commitment, members are motivated to aggregate demand for carbon-neutral flying. Some are championing mechanisms including co-investment vehicles, industry-backed policy proposals, and creative value-chain stimulus programmes for corporate passenger and transport business customers.
