ICAO, IATA sign SAF agreement amid tracking turbulence

The agreement between the International Civil Aviation Organization and IATA to enhance cooperation in the tracking of sustainable aviation fuel and promoting its deployment will help the industry achieve its net-zero goal by 2050, both organizations said. “So far, there is no harmonized way to account for SAF benefits across registries,” an ICAO spokesperson told Cargo Facts. “For example, there is a lack of standardization of SAF unique identifier numbers, which could increase the risk of double counting, issuance and claiming. [caption id="attachment_57297711" align="aligncenter" width="2028"] Airlines will need about 500 million tonnes of SAF in total to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, according to IATA. (Courtesy/Neste)[/caption] “Ensuring a robust, traceable and transparent system, with interoperability amongst registries, will reduce associated accounting risks.” Under the agreement announced this month, ICAO and IATA will investigate how SAF registries and their data can support implementation of ICAO’s long-term goal without imposing specific emissions reduction targets on individual countries. “Credible tracking is necessary to know the emissions reductions delivered by SAF,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a release. “By working with ICAO to strengthen how progress on SAF use is measured and reported, we can accelerate deployment, build trust across stakeholders and put aviation on track for net zero by 2050. “This will set a great example for individual states to work with industry to make the most of the SAF data that is being accumulated.” Tracking will extend beyond SAF to include additional cleaner energy sources, such as hydrogen and lower carbon aviation fuels, ICAO told Cargo Facts . However, SAF will be the priority, as it is expected to account for more than 50% of emissions reductions by 2050, it said. “The partnership will improve data integrity, monitoring capabilities and harmonized reporting frameworks, reinforcing cooperation between states and industry,” the ICAO spokesperson said. “In parallel, ICAO, through its technical body, the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, is exploring fuel accounting methodologies and systems to understand best practices and risks.” Sequencing-as-solution The agreement comes as SAF production for 2026 appears well behind schedule, according to data released at IATA’s 82nd annual general meeting in Rio de Janeiro this month. IATA expects SAF production to reach around 2.4 million tonnes in 2026 — just 0.8% of global jet fuel use — at a cost of $4.3 billion to airlines, according to a release. In 2025, SAF cost between two to five times as much as conventional jet fuel, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. Meanwhile, airlines across the industry would need about 500 million tonnes of SAF in total to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. IATA identified actions that can be taken to accelerate SAF use: Expanding renewable energy supplies to ensure sufficient feedstocks for clean energy are available; Ensuring open access to infrastructure, including pipelines, storage and airport fuel systems; Strengthening policy support through sequencing of production incentives and investment in frameworks that reduce risk before mandates are imposed; and Enabling a global SAF market with sufficient volumes at commercially viable prices. Already underperforming systems are being further strained by European Union and U.K. mandates requiring the production of e-SAF — a kind of SAF that requires large amounts of water, CO2, hydrogen and electricity instead of waste oils — to reach around 600,000 tonnes by 2030. Only one site is in operation globally. About twenty would be needed to meet the mandated volume, according to IATA. “It is a reckless energy market creation strategy to impose mandates before production is enabled,” Marie Owens Thomsen, senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist at IATA, said. “Such a strategy will only drive up the price. Coupled with penalties, it diverts scarce resources from being allocated to actual CO2 emissions reductions.” Brazil’s bright spot Brazil has about fifteen SAF projects underway, which, if completed, would bring about 2 tonnes of SAF online, according to IATA. By 2030, Brazil’s sugar-based ethanol, as well as waste oils, could be used to produce as much as 12 tonnes of SAF, five times the estimated global SAF production of 2.4 tonnes in 2026. SAF production will require the development of specialized infrastructure, policy incentives, and the implementation of a book-and-claim approach — where carriers agree to purchase a set amount of SAF before it has been produced — Brazil’s Fuel of the Future framework already is set to establish, especially those that support financing mechanisms, IATA said. Sequencing policy incentive rollout such that sufficient SAF is available before any mandated targets take effect will be especially necessary, it added. “Brazil has all the ingredients to be a global SAF powerhouse,” Walsh said in the release. “As the second-largest producer of liquid biofuels in the world, the country benefits from deep expertise and developed infrastructure. “Brazil has a real opportunity to be a global leader in aviation’s decarbonization.”

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