Making jet fuel from used cooking oil or crops is more sustainable than burning kerosene, but the industry warns it doesn’t represent a long-term solution to decarbonizing aviation.
Reducing its carbon footprint is a growing issue for a sector that generates about 2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions and is under pressure to slash its impact on the climate.
The fastest way to cut emissions is to shift away from kerosene — a fossil fuel — to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) — an alternative made from non-petroleum feedstocks that don’t require a technological revolution in airframes and engines. But worries are growing that the world can’t produce enough green aviation fuel to meet demand.
“It’s very unlikely that the U.K. will be able to produce all of the SAF that it needs,” said Antony Henderson, head of low-carbon fuel international and trade policy at the U.K. Department for Transport, speaking at a POLITICO event at last week’s Farnborough International Airshow.
