Governments called to arms to support “green” fuel production

February 1st 2024

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Never one to mince words, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general, Willie Walsh, speaking at a recent Singapore summit, said airlines worldwide are doing all they can to reduce emissions but they cannot do it alone. Read More »

“I believe the industry has shown strong demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF),” he told delegates.

“Every single drop of SAF produced has been used by the industry,” he said. “In 2020, 2021, 2022, at the height of the pandemic, the industry continued to invest in this expensive product. And I have absolutely no doubt we will continue to do.

“What we need to see as an industry is greater production. We need to see governments providing incentives for production to significantly increase.

“And with an increase in production, I guarantee you, airlines will use all SAF produced despite the cost impact it will represent.

“Working together, with the right policy frameworks in place from governments, the industry has a very credible path to achieving all of the necessary measures to ensure we are at net zero in 2050.”

To illustrate his conviction that “airlines see net zero emissions by 2050 as their most important issue in the short to medium term”, Walsh said: “if you look at the CO₂ produced by the industry in 2000 and compare it with 2019 just before the outbreak of the pandemic, our CO₂ footprint increased by 54%. In that same period – from 2000 to 2019 - passenger traffic grew 175%.

“There is a complete disconnect between passenger growth and our CO₂ growth. So, we can be confident, with the measures we have put in place and advances in technology, there will be opportunities for us to address this critical issue.”

But “whatever way you look at it, there is a cost associated with transitionally to net zero”, Walsh said. “Ultimately, that cost will have to be reflected in the ticket prices we are going to charge customers, which will have a dampening effect on the growth the industry sees growing forward,” he said.

IATA forecasts annual global airline growth of 3.3% for the next two decades, “significantly lower than 2010-2019”, and reflecting issues the industry now faces. “I am pleased to say the Asia-Pacific is likely to lead the market with expansion of around 4.5% per annum in the next 20 years,” Walsh said. In 2023, Asia-Pacific international traffic within the region had collapsed to 9.7%. At press time, the region was logging an international market share of 32% compared with 35% in 2019.