The Third Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3), hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Dubai last week, saw the agreement of a global framework to accelerate the growth of a cleaner aviation industry.

The CAAF/3 delivered critical agreement on:

• A global framework to promote Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production in all geographies worldwide. The aim is that aviation fuel in 2030 is 5% less carbon intensive than fossil fuel used today by the industry. 
• Acknowledging that certain States can progress at a faster pace, and that others do not. 
• Capacity building, a ‘Finvest Hub’, and voluntary technology transfer, are all measures put forward to ensure that all countries can take part in a global SAF market. 
• The need for a solution that can foster a global SAF market while enabling airlines to claim the environmental attributes of SAF purchases against decarbonisation obligations, based on a global and robust SAF accounting framework. 

Call for government policies to support SAF production

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has responded to these agreements by saying that it looks forward to governments delivering the supportive policies needed to enable aviation’s decarbonisation.

“Governments have understood the critical role of SAF to achieve nett-zero emissions for aviation by 2050. The CAAF/3 results add an ambitious vision on the shorter, 2030, time horizon. To that end, the CAAF/3 agreement signals to the world in no uncertain terms the need for policies enabling real progress. There is no time to lose. Iata now expects governments to urgently put the strongest possible policies in place to unlock the full potential of a global SAF market with an exponential increase in production,” said Willie Walsh, Iata Director General. 

“We need to see governments acting on the CAAF/3 declaration with policies that expand SAF production in all its shapes and forms. Despite unequivocal demand signals, the SAF production market is not developing fast enough. We need SAF everywhere in the world and, to that end, the right supportive policies – policies that can stimulate production, promote competition, foster innovation, and attract financing – must be put in place today,” added Walsh.

Iata has called on governments to adopt policies to maximise SAF production globally by:

• Enabling producers to take fullest advantage of local feedstock availability.
• Enacting positive, not punitive, policies.
• Balancing existing and future potential policy support across different energy sources and preferably striving to favour renewable energies and ensure SAFs’ fair share of the latter.
• Recognising that the road to success in transforming aviation and achieve reaching nett-zero carbon emissions is a collective responsibility.