Europe’s airlines traditionally like to bicker with airports and air navigation service providers over a range of issues, most prominently regarding charges and allegations of monopolistic behavior. Now, though, the industry seems to have found common ground on one topic: the environment.
Prompted by public perception of air transport as an irresponsible polluter and by the European Green Deal—which would enshrine the EU’s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030—the industry in February launched “Destination 2050–A Route to Net Zero European Aviation.” The cross-industry sustainability initiative details a roadmap to reduce CO2 emissions from all flights within and departing from the “EU+,” which covers the EU27, the UK, and the four European Free Trade Association countries. The plan calls for emissions cuts of 45 percent by 2030 compared with the 2018 baseline and for reaching net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The report calculates that using SAF could achieve emission reductions of up to 46 percent, including a 12 percent CO2 reduction from the effect of the more costly SAF on demand.
The advantages of SAF to decarbonize flying are well-established—commercial flights powered partly by a sustainable biofuel started in 2011—yet its uptake remains at minimal levels. SAF now accounts for less than 1 percent of EU aviation fuel consumption and a mere 25 airports in Europe receive sustainable bio-jet fuel, a recently published map by Eurocontrol reveals. Most of those airports receive batches on an ad-hoc basis and fewer than half receive ongoing SAF deliveries, with all of the latter located in the Nordics.
“For Europe to attain its climate goals, SAF must account for an increasing share of aviation fuel’s mix to reach more than 60 percent by 2050,” asserted EU transport commissioner Adina Valean. European Commission analysis indicates that over…