Emirates President says airlines must ‘do better’ to develop sustainable fuels, meet climate goals

Emirates President Tim Clark called for the airline industry to “do better” and put more money towards the development of sustainable aviation fuels as part of the global push to decarbonize commercial aviation. “If we rely on government, if we rely on other entities to do things, we may be waiting a long time,” Clark said at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Istanbul Tuesday. “We can’t wait that long. We’ve got to do better than that.” Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, represents the biggest lever toward meeting the airline industry’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. The fuels, which must generate at least half as many lifecycle emissions as their fossil fuel counterparts, are often made from things like trash or biomass. They are to drive 65% of the reductions with the balance coming from new technology — like electric or hydrogen aircraft — carbon capture, and efficiency improvements. The problem is SAF production stood at just roughly 79m gallons last year, or “virtually nothing” in the words of IATA Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen. “There is not enough supply of SAF in the world today,” ANA President and CEO Shinichi Inoue said in Istanbul. The lack of supply, and seemingly insatiable demand from airlines, drives the 4-5 times price premium that carriers pay for SAF over standard jet fuel.<br/>