British Airways operated its first flight to New York as the US reopened on Monday powered by 35% sustainable aviation fuel, the highest proportion of SAF yet used for a commercial transatlantic flight.
BA argued the fuel, made from used cooking oil and mixed with 65% kerosene, “reduces lifecycle CO2 emissions by more than 80% compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces”.
The flight operated as the Cop26 climate conference continued in Glasgow and after BA parent IAG recently committed to operating 10% of flights using SAF by 2030.
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However, the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), disputed the 80% emissions reduction claim, insisting: “Waste-based fuels are a dead end when it comes to aviation decarbonisation.”
The AEF said: “At best, waste‑based fuels offer a ‘net’ not an ‘actual’ emissions reduction. At least as much CO2 is emitted when they are burned as from kerosene, so any emissions saving comes from the assumption that CO2 has been absorbed historically by the organic matter in the waste. Using waste fuels does not cut CO2 emissions now.”
It added: “Many claims of big emissions savings from these fuels arise from assumptions that they avoid the release of methane generated by food waste in landfill. But converting these wastes into aviation fuel isn’t a net-zero strategy given the CO2 it releases. This isn’t a scalable solution for powering aviation.”
AEF is a UK-based NGO whose members include environmental groups and local authorities. It is a member of the industry’s Sustainable Aviation coalition and the International Coalition for Sustainable
Aviation which works with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The AEF acknowledges “aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise” and points out: “Pre-pandemic, the sector’s emissions globally were more than twice those of the entire UK economy.”
International air travel is not part of the official agenda at Cop26 because ICAO takes the lead on aviation emissions and will host a summit on the issue in 2022.
However, a series of events were due around the Glasgow conference on Wednesday, designated Transport Day, to showcase new aviation technologies and alternative fuels and the UK government was due to launch a declaration in support of setting a long-term climate goal at ICAO next year.
But the AEF warned: “Aviation is likely to stand out increasingly as a problematic sector and even more so if the focus is on near-term dates like 2030 as technologies to decarbonise flight are still in their infancy.”
It pointed out: “Just 1% of the global population generate around half of global aviation emissions” and suggested measures “necessary to tackle emissions include less flying, ending airport expansion, making airlines accountable for their emissions [and] developing genuine zero carbon fuels and technologies”.
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