Aviation, which accounts for approximately three per cent of CO2 emissions, is considered a hard-to-abate sector due to a lack of technologically mature alternatives to traditional jet-fuelled engines.
With electric and hydrogen aircraft still relatively limited, short- and medium-term decarbonisation efforts are focused on efficiency measures and lowering the carbon emissions of jet fuel by mixing conventional fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAF takes various forms, but is often produced from biomass such as from crops and animal fats.
Under current UN plans, at least 10 per cent of fuel used in aviation should be sustainable by 2030. East has said that in order to avoid growing its share of emissions, the aviation sector must reach beyond this target.
“Flying generates between [two and three per cent] of global emissions but, as easier-to-abate sectors decarbonise, that proportion will increase, so shortening aviation’s journey to net zero...