IAG becomes first European airline firm to commit to powering 10 per cent of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by end of decade
International Airlines Group (IAG) has become the first major aviation firm in Europe to commit to powering 10 per cent of its flights with bio-based jet fuels by the end of the decade, in a move that will see the British Airways owner purchase one million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year.
Announcing the commitment yesterday to coincide with Earth Day, the airline giant said ramping up its use of SAF for its flights would enable it to cut its annual greenhouse gas emissions by two million tonnes by 2030, roughly equivalent to removing one million cars from Europe's roads each year.
Moreover, IAG announced it has extended its existing 2050 net zero emissions target to cover its entire supply chain, making it the first European airline to set such a goal for its Scope 3 value chain emissions, as it pledged to work with suppliers to achieve net zero for the products and services provided to the firm.
The announcement is a major boost for the fledgling market for SAF, which proponents claim has the potential to reduce emissions from flights by at least 70 per cent if used as a replacement for traditional jet fuel. As it stands, however, SAF has largely been trialled in smaller quantities blended alongside traditional jet fuel for commercial flights with critics warning its adoption is being hampered by cost and capacity challenges.
The news comes as the global aviation sector continues to reel from the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which has severely reduced demand for international travel. However, the sector is still expected to see demand recover post-pandemic and with it a rising contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, which currently stands at around two to three per cent.
"It's clearly challenging to transition to a low carbon business model but, despite the current pandemic, we remain resolute in our climate commitments," said Luis Gallego, IAG's chief executive. "Government support is critical to meet this target by attracting investment to construct sustainable aviation fuel plants that will deliver enough supply for the airline industry, creating highly valued green jobs and economic growth at global scale."
SAF can be made from a variety of sources, including waste cooking oil, animal fat or other plant oils, solid waste from homes and businesses, or forestry waste and energy crops.
IAG has pledged to invest $400m in the development of SAF over the next two decades, partnering with specialist sustainable aviation fuel developers LanzaJet and Velocys, and plotting Europe's first household waste-to-jet-fuel plant in the UK to start operations from 2025. British Airways has also struck a deal to purchase SAF from LanzaJet's US plant to power some of its flights from 2022.
With the right policy in place, IAG said that up to 14 SAF manufacturing plants could be built across the UK, which it said would create 6,500 jobs and save 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Velocys CEO Henrik Wareborn said that SAF offered the potential to largely decarbonise flight without any modifications to existing jet engines, and that if integrated with carbon capture technologies it could even offer "negative-carbon emissions".
"We are proud to be collaborating with an organisation who recognise the essential role SAF will play in significantly decarbonising the aviation sector by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050," he added.
The announcement follows the news earlier this week that the UK will for the first time include international aviation in its newly-announced 2035 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78 per cent from 1990 levels. A number of world leaders are also expected to travel to Glasgow via planes powered partly by green fuel for the crucial COP26 Climate Summit later this year, under plans being developed by the UK government, according to reports.
The UK's Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, hailed IAG's "agenda-setting commitment" yesterday, which he said demonstrated "clear evidence of the progress we are making".
"These kinds of initiatives, along with our work through the Jet Zero Council, will help us rapidly accelerate towards our net zero targets as we build back better out of the pandemic," he said.
However, some environmental campaigners and experts remain wary of SAFs, questioning their ability to deliver promised emissions savings and replace global demand for aviation fuels without having a negative knock on impact on land use. As such, calls continue to grow for policymakers to take steps to curb demand for aviation, alongside measures to boost investment in new green aircraft technologies.