SAF initiatives require funding, incentives

Regulatory mandates are not enough to reach net-zero goals in the aviation industry — incentives must be implemented alongside directives and fees for pollution must be recycled into decarbonization initiatives. “You don't create a [sustainable aviation fuel] SAF market just by mandating the SAF supply,” Monika Rybakowska, policy director for sustainability at trade association Airlines 4 Europe, said during a panel discussion at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 last week in Istanbul. [caption id="attachment_57288804" align="aligncenter" width="1607"] Panelists discuss sustainability in air cargo and the barriers to decarbonization at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] “You have to provide other incentives. You have to provide mechanisms that would help us bridge the gap between off-takers, the airlines, and producers and suppliers.” IATA has set a goal for the aviation industry to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and industry leaders have touted SAF as the best way to reach that goal. The European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation , adopted in 2023, aims to incrementally decarbonize aviation by 2050. Beginning this year, 2% of the fuel provided at EU airports must be SAF. That share rises to 6% in 2030. The EU also implemented its Emissions Trading System (ETS) in 2005 that requires companies emitting carbon, including airlines, to pay fees corresponding to their pollution. “When it comes to EU ETS ... we estimated out 4 million euros [being paid by airlines] for the upcoming years, annually,” Rybakowska said. But that money does not automatically go back into decarbonization technology development or incentives, she said. Instead, it may go to education, healthcare, rearmament or the like. “You cannot mandate us to decarbonize, but leave us kind of alone.” — Monika Rybakowska, policy director for sustainability at Airlines 4 Europe “So, what we are calling for is to get some percentage of this money back into the sector to, for example, fund this market ," she said. Offsetting costs Cost is a major barrier to decarbonization and SAF adoption, as SAF can cost as much as three times the cost of traditional jet fuel . “I just don't know how [current decarbonization technologies] can be economically viable,” Fabiano Piccinno, global head of sustainability in air logistics at freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel, said on the panel. “Who's going to pay for it? Because, at the end of the day, it has to be passed down somehow to the end user, to the shipper or the passenger.” — Fabiano Piccinno, global head of sustainability in air logistics at Kuehne+Nagel The cost of SAF production and implementation cannot rest solely on the aviation industry, panelists agreed. For instance, Rybakowska wants to see more SAF projects funded through the EU Innovation Fund. “The SAF projects are lost in there because they are not receiving the points to get through the funding criteria,” she said. “There is a huge campus investment, but there is not much certainty that the projects will actually work.” And without funding, the renewable energies industry cannot produce enough SAF to help aviation reach net zero by 2050. SAF production is expected to reach 2.1 million tonnes in 2025, or 0.7% of total jet fuel production and 13% of global renewable fuel capacity, according to IATA. Between 3,000 and more than 6,500 SAF plants need to be built to enable aviation to reach net zero by 2050, IATA said in December 2024. See more coverage of Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 .

SAF initiatives require funding, incentives

Cargo Facts EMEA 2025

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