Sustaining Our Resources and Aviation is Key Player in Climate Change Now and in the Future
The UN Climate Change
Conference of the Parties
(COP26) and the World Economic
Forum’s Davos Agenda
have ended and countries
around the world have committed,
some more than others,
to fight climate change and its
impact on the human population.
Aviation currently makes
up about 3 to 4 percent of total
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions
— it’s by far the most energy
intensive way to travel. Air
travel and aviation fuel use will
increase substantially.
once the pandemic impact
has passed, so now is the time
to actually make and not just
talk changes.
Aviation oriented organizations,
International Air Transport
Association (IATA) and
the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), say
that governments must lead
in a global approach in driving
change in the industry with Climate
Change’s most important
factors of net-zero emissions by
2050, adoption and use of sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF the
Carbon Offsetting and Reduction
Scheme for International
Aviation (CORSIA).
SAF plays an important part
of this puzzle since emissions
from traditional jet fuel impacts
the air, the health of the public,
and reduction of the use of fossil
fuel and carbon emissions.
It is a complex problem with
politics at odds between public
good and business. Change
experts insist that governments
must lead the way threading
this needle by legislation, and
incentives for business to invest
in next generation aviation fuel.
Following the COP26 Conference,
the US and many
countries have pledged to not
exceed carbon emissions by
1.5 % by 2050. Global demand
is steadily recovering. For instance,
overall demand in 2021
is expected to reach 40 per cent
of pre-crisis (2019) levels. Capacity
is expected to increase
faster than demand growth,
reaching 50 per cent of precrisis
levels for 2021.And right
now SAF is a less than a fraction
and a gleam in the eyes of
aviation engine manufacturers
and current fossil fuel users.
What is SAF
Sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF) is jet fuel produced from
biological resources that can
be replenished rapidly and
without impacting food supply.
Compared to traditional petroleum
AIRPORT V 12 OICE, NOVEMBER 2021
based Jet-A fuel, renewable
options can significantly
reduce both greenhouse gas
emissions and other air pollutants
such as particulate matter
and sulfur oxides. Safety is Jet-
Blue’s number one priority, and
SAF is functionally equivalent
to conventional Jet-A fuel, posing
no discernible difference in
safety or performance. The fuel
is fully compatible with existing
jet engine technology and fuel
distribution infrastructure when
blended with fossil jet fuel, and
is tested and transported the
same way as regular Jet-A fuel.
There are however some
drawbacks with what biofuel is
made from. So, Biden administration
says that it will help cut
costs and rapidly scale domestic
production of sustainable
fuels, but in a climate-friendly
way. The administration has
proposed a sustainable-aviation
fuel tax credit that would
require at least a 50 percent reduction
in overall greenhouse
gas emissions, a standard that
would disqualify most cropbased
biofuels.
Only by using SAF in addition
to other sustainable
methodology, will this be accomplished.
It will require resoluteness
and real investments
in the fuel and aviation industry
to make reaching this goal and
date a reality.
Local and Global
Initiatives
Port Authority of NY and NJ
Anticipating the direction
of COP26, the Port had earlier
introduced a wide range of
initiatives addressing sustainability,
including SAF. “We are
actively preparing The Port Authority
of New York & New Jersey
airports for Sustainable
Aviation Fuel and looking at regional
production options that
would support green jobs and
the transition to a #low carbon
economy. Read the report we
commissioned from National
Renewable Energy Laboratory
on the topic:https://lnkd.in/
d3Js4h72
Airlines for
America
Airlines for America (A4A),
the industry trade organization
representing the leading U.S.
airlines, announced that it’s
member carriers have pledged
to work with government leaders
and other stakeholders to
make 3 billion gallons of costcompetitive
sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) available to U.S.
aircraft operators in 2030 and
work with government leaders
in a positive partnership to
achieve net-zero carbon emissions
by 2050.
Additionally, A4A has helped
launch the nascent SAF industry
and committed to the Carbon
Offsetting and Reduction
Scheme for International Aviation
(CORSIA) to help facilitate
achieving carbon-neutral
growth in international aviation
beginning in 2020.A4A members
pledged to work toward a
rapid expansion of the production
and deployment of commercially
viable SAF to make 2
billion gallons available in 2030.
JetBlue out of JFK has been
in transition from fossil to SAF
incrementally over the past few
years.
JetBlue has plans to speed
up its transition to sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF) with an offtake
agreement with SG Preston,
a leading bioenergy developer.
With the addition of this
SG Preston agreement to its
previous SAF commitments,
JetBlue is well ahead of pace on
its target to convert 10 percent
of its total fuel usage to SAF on
a blended basis by 2030. The
airline will reach nearly eight
percent SAF usage by the end
of 2023 when delivery of SAF
under this agreement is expected.
JetBlue is doubling its
previous SAF commitment with
SG Preston, which was first announced
in 2016 as one of the
largest SAF purchase agreements
in aviation history.
JetBlue’s agreement with
SG Preston also marks a major
milestone for SAF in New York’s
airports. This deal is expected
to bring the first large-scale volume
of domestically produced
SAF for a commercial airline
to New York’s metropolitan airports.
JetBlue will convert 30
percent of its fuel buy across
John F. Kennedy International
Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport
(LGA) and Newark Liberty
International Airport (EWR)
from traditional Jet-A fuel to
SAF (b), which is expected to
reduce emissions by an estimated
80 percent per gallon of
neat SAF, compared to traditional
petroleum-based fuels.
AT LAX, World Energy, a
zero-now solutions provider for
transport and the industry’s first
commercial-scale producer of
SAF, is supplying JetBlue fuel
at LAX from its facility in Paramount,
Calif. JetBlue is World
Energy’s second U.S. commercial
airline partner to incorporate
SAF into its regular operations.
In the first flight from Heathrow to JFK on November 8 when international
travel was allowed back to the U.S. , BA’s Airbus 350 was directly
powered by 35% sustainable aviation fuel pasing by the JFK ATC upon
arrival.
“We are well past the point
of vague climate commitments
and corporate strategies. Earlier
this year, we set specific,
dated, and aggressive emissions
targets. And now we are
physically changing the fuel in
our aircraft to meet these commitments,”
said Robin Hayes,
chief executive officer, JetBlue.
Heathrow-Carbon
Offsets
Passengers travelling
through London Heathrow Airport
can now offset their flight’s
carbon emissions by purchasing
Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Heathrow will be the first airport
in the UK to offer passengers
this opportunity. The voluntary
online offsetting platform is
powered by climate-tech company
CHOOOSE and SAF is
provided by Sky NRG.
Heathrow will continue to
support the UK government in
its efforts to secure a global
agreement for net zero aviation
at ICAO in 2022, ensuring aviation
cuts its carbon emissions
whilst protecting the benefits of
flying for future generations.
American Airlines- American
Airlines published its latest
Environmental, Social and Governance
(ESG) Report, detailing
the progress the company
made in 2020 on key ESG priorities,
such as sustainability and
diversity, equity and inclusion.
The report features the airline’s
updated analysis of its
path to net-zero emissions by
2050. Compared to its previous
analysis, American’s updated
path reflects an expectation for
greater availability of sustainable
aviation fuel, as well as the
approval and adoption of hydrogen
and electric propulsion aircraft.
The new analysis also reflects
American’s commitment
to set a science-based target
for the year 2035.
Delta
Delta committed $1 billion
over the ensuing 10 years to
drive innovation, advance clean
air travel technologies, accelerate
the reduction of carbon
emissions and waste, and establish
new projects to mitigate
the balance of emissions.
Delta Air Lines is the first to
make its airline carbon neutral
on a global basis, is taking part
in the Race to Zero initiative;
the LEAF Coalition, as the first
airline; and World Economic Forum's
Clean Skies for Tomorrow
Ambition Statement, as a steer-
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