Jet Zero: The Critical Role of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Delivering Net Zero in the Aviation Sector by 2050

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 300 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, approved a resolution in October 2021 for the global air transport industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In October 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency which helps 193 countries cooperate and share their skies, adopted a similar new global goal for international aviation of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. These “jet zero” commitments align with the United Nations’ Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

IATA’s strategy is to abate CO2 emissions using in-sector solutions such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), new aircraft technology, more efficient operations and infrastructure and the development of new zero-emissions energy sources such as electric and hydrogen power. In reality, the electrification of commercial aviation or the use of hydrogen fuel-cells to power aircraft are unlikely to be technically, practically or commercially viable any time soon (if ever), and therefore SAF is, and will be, the sector’s principal path to decarbonization. This is creating complexity and opportunity across the industry.

Akin is currently advising clients on multiple SAF project development, financing, offtake and carbon offset mandates in the UK, the US and the Middle East, deploying a range of production pathways.