Global Air Travel Surges While Switch to Clean Jet Fuel Lags
To reach 2030 climate targets, airlines will need to increase their consumption of sustainable aviation fuel more than 30-fold.
The aviation industry expects that SAF production will skyrocket after 2030, eventually supplying up to 90% of its fuel.
Photographer: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance/Getty Images
Global air travel surged to record levels last year, and airlines are consuming far less sustainable jet fuel than expected. This is a dire combination in the effort to counteract climate change, with aviation contributing about 4% of human-induced warming to date.
Most carriers have vowed to address their growing contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by using vastly more fuels derived from lower-emitting sources like used cooking oil and energy crops. Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines Inc., and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. are among a large group of airlines promising to consume 10% sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, by 2030.