In the UK, FlightGlobal reported that the president of Emirates Airline said governments have gone “too far” in terms of mandating the use of sustainable aviation fuel, which could end up costing passengers. Tim Clark says government mandates that a specific percentage of airlines’ fuel uplift be SAF by a certain date will create problems. “This stick approach, in my view, is not the way to get us across the line with SAF,” said Clark. The executive also said that there is insufficient investment going into refining capacity for SAF. Moreover, the cost of feedstocks is high, as well as the opportunity cost involved in creating feedstocks, such as using arable land to produce SAF that could otherwise be used to produce food, he said. Clark estimates that SAF represents just 0.1% of the fuel used in aviation, and that demand for air travel continues to grow, pushing up fuel requirements, the report added.
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