The Aviation Emissions Problem
If the aviation sector were a country, it would place sixth in greenhouse gas emissions, between Japan and Germany. Global air travel demand was expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 based on pre-pandemic calculations resulting in significant growth in emissions. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) representing about 290 airlines or 83% of total air traffic has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Unfortunately, electric planes (including those powered by renewable energy sources) are not fully technically feasible yet. As a result, a critical role in reaching this 2050 target is the use of environmentally friendly fuels that produce zero or minimal emissions. An International Energy Agency report states that meeting 2050 net-zero emissions goals requires that 75% of aviation fuels be low carbon sustainable fuels by 2050.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) have similar properties to conventional jet fuels but with reduced emissions by up to 80%. They can be made from a variety of feedstocks (ie. raw material inputs) that do not compete with food production, do not take up significant amounts of water to produce, do not contribute to deforestation, and do not degrade the natural environment in any other way. According to the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF), “SAF is produced by replacing a fossil-carbon feedstock with a sustainable atmosphere-carbon feedstock (i.e., where the carbon has been recycled from the atmosphere and captured in renewable materials)”. Examples of feedstocks for SAFs include waste oils such as used cooking oil from restaurants and households, forestry residues such as wood waste from logging practices and industrial sawmills, and energy crops such as algae. Feedstocks can also be produced by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere using direct air capture and combining it with hydrogen to make a low carbon fuel or by using industrial waste gases or gasified municipal solid waste. Using all of these types of feedstocks can help meet the growing demand for sustainable air travel. According to a US Department of Energy website, SAFs have several benefits other than reducing climate emissions. For example – depending on the feedstock – farmers who supply feedstock materials in off seasons can gain extra revenue and producing some plant-based feedstocks can help improve soil quality. Producing certain SAF feedstocks can also help control erosion and improve local water quality.
SAFs are also easy to use as they do not require airplane engine or airport infrastructure modifications. These fuels are typically blended with traditional jet fuels for use on flights but a recent test has shown that blending is not always necessary. On December 1st, 2021, a plane successfully flew over 100 passengers from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport with one engine having 500 gallons of 100% SAF and thus no blending with traditional jet fuel. The SAF was made using plant-based feedstocks.
How Can It Happen – Next Steps
The aviation sector as a whole needs to be encouraged to move towards SAFs. Unfortunately, due to costs – which can range from at least twice as much (in some cases much more) than traditional fossil fuel based jet fuels to produce, SAFs consist of less than 1% of fuels used for air travel prior to the pandemic. Reducing costs means that increased quantities of SAFs must be produced which will mean increased production of sustainable feedstock. To make this happen corporate and other travelers need to support SAF’s either directly by demanding SAF and paying a premium for its use or through taxes such as the carbon tax. We need a Sustainable Aviation Fuel strategy from the Canadian government to achieve greater supply and demand of SAFs. Canada should create an aviation low carbon fuel mandate aiming to increase the use of SAFs over time. We should provide grants and other incentives to producers to produce or collect feedstocks as well as convert these feedstocks into SAFs so that we can have a sufficient amount of made in Canada SAFs to meet our fuel demands. Currently there is very little SAF made in Canada but, according to the C-SAF, “Canada has the right ingredients to create an affordable and reliable SAF market through sustainable feedstock options, low-carbon energy sources and evolving climate-related policies such as clean fuel standards and carbon pricing.” All Canadian-based airlines should be encouraged to increase use of SAFs and have a policy of achieving carbon neutrality. Some existing fossil fuel subsidies should be diverted towards SAFs. These measures can help to ensure that we get to our net-zero climate emissions goal by 2050 and avoid dangerous levels of warming.
