IATA: governments should offer incentives to expand SAF use

IATA, the International Air Transport Association, has suggested that governments should offer large scale incentives to airlines to expand the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The incentives could support aviation to pursue its commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

According to a report by Centre of Aviation, IATA predicted that with effective government incentives, production could reach 30 billion litres by 2030. The organisation stated that incentives could provide a clear tipping point towards the net zero ambition of ample SAF quantities at affordable prices.

To fulfil aviation’s net zero commitment, current estimates are for SAF to account for 65% of aviation’s carbon mitigation in 2050. That would require an annual production capacity of 449 billion liters. Investments are in place to expand SAF annual production from the current 125 million liters to 5 billion by 2025.

“Incentives to transition electricity production to renewable sources like solar or wind worked. As a result, clean energy solutions are now cheap and widely available. With similar incentives for SAF, we could see 30 billion liters available by 2030.”, said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General at the 78th IATA Annual General Meeting in Doha, Qatar.