After a first-of-its-kind sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) summit, business aviation leaders committed to redouble their focus on fostering the large-scale production and widespread adoption of SAF.
The summit was the latest in a series of efforts by the industry to encourage greater production and use of SAF, a cleaner-burning fuel that can reduce net lifecycle carbon emissions 50% or more compared to conventional jet fuel, and would help the industry go further, faster in reducing business aviation’s already low carbon footprint.
Specifically, the event focused on the following efforts:
- Encouraging federal and state policymakers to consider legislative incentives to help foster SAF use, and working with them to examine whether there are existing policies slowing the development of the SAF market.
- Further development of market-based programs, such as ‘book-and-claim’ which allows operators to purchase SAF, even where it is not available at the airport from which they are flying.
- Finding ways to further expand the infrastructure needed to meet SAF demand.
The summit gathered operators, legislators, regulators, fuel suppliers and others to determine how best and how quickly the production, supply, demand and use of SAF can be accelerated.
The event was organised by the Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Fuel, which includes the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).
CAAFI Executive Director Steve Csonka said, “I believe the summit clearly highlighted two key messages.
“First, after succeeding with all the foundational work on an SAF strategy, the entire civil aviation industry is clearly ready and willing to expand use of SAF, but it is in short supply, due to some fundamental challenges typical of any developing market.
“Secondly, policymakers can assist by creating stable incentivizing policies, at both state and federal levels, or addressing policy bias, which currently impedes SAF expansion, and favours renewable diesel. We look forward to continued engagement on the topic.”
EBAA Secretary-General, Athar Husain Khan, said, “The vital question for the future of the business aviation industry is: how can we facilitate the transition to a more sustainable society? This summit shows that, despite being hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis, business aviation is more committed than ever to reducing its environmental impact and tackling the urgent threat of climate change.”
In January 2020, the SAF Coalition announced two new carbon-reduction initiatives with the World Economic Forum that made SAF available for aircraft departing the event in Davos, Switzerland and initiated a book-and-claim programme.
The coalition recently released Fuelling the Future, an educational and informational resource about the practicalities of SAF development, industry adoption, and pending expansion of supply and use, primarily from the perspectives of the business aviation community. The guide describes in detail the pathways available to greater SAF availability.
More information about the SAF Coalition is available at futureofsustainablefuel.com
