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Airlines ask customers to pay for costly 'sustainable' jet fuel
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/03/16 16:46:12
UNITED Airlines, Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell are working to create a supply chain of "sustainable" fuel they expect will save the industry in the era of climate change, reports the Washington Post.
But without much hope of financial success they are also looking for one more critical factor: the customer's sense of environmental obligation.
United is giving customers the option to contribute to its fund - US$1, $3.50 or $7 - every time they buy a ticket. The airline says it's offering passengers a way to finance a climate solution.
Lufthansa offers more expensive green fares for "CO2-neutral flying" through a combination of 20 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 80 offsets.
American Airlines and JetBlue inked a deal to fuel a sliver of their operations out of San Francisco International Airport with SAF.
"Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is the most promising way for the aviation industry to replace fossil fuels - so you feel better about flying," said the report, a later admitting that the most promising way was pretty much a "hail Mary".
But many carbon offsets sold by the airline industry don't deliver on their promise, according to Greenpeace, Carbon Market Watch and others. Aircraft efficiency gains have been eclipsed by more air travel. And while companies are testing planes that run on clean electricity or hydrogen, replacing the entire commercial fleet could take decades.
SAF can come from cooking oil, corn, soybeans, algae, wood and even cities' solid waste streams. Refineries turn this organic matter into a fuel by heating it up and then removing impurities.
SAF can reduce net emissions 85 per cent compared to jet fuel, but at double to quadruple the cost.
Delta Air Lines signed a deal last year with Gevo to buy 75 million gallons of advanced renewable biofuels from corn each year. And Southwest Airlines is the first to use the fuel at Oakland's airport.
Even in a best-case scenario, however, most aircraft will have to keep burning fossil fuels for the next few decades. For some people, that will mean flying less or not at all. "The only sustainable way to fly today is not to fly," said European eco lobby Transport & Environment director Jo Dardenne.
But without much hope of financial success they are also looking for one more critical factor: the customer's sense of environmental obligation.
United is giving customers the option to contribute to its fund - US$1, $3.50 or $7 - every time they buy a ticket. The airline says it's offering passengers a way to finance a climate solution.
Lufthansa offers more expensive green fares for "CO2-neutral flying" through a combination of 20 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 80 offsets.
American Airlines and JetBlue inked a deal to fuel a sliver of their operations out of San Francisco International Airport with SAF.
"Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is the most promising way for the aviation industry to replace fossil fuels - so you feel better about flying," said the report, a later admitting that the most promising way was pretty much a "hail Mary".
But many carbon offsets sold by the airline industry don't deliver on their promise, according to Greenpeace, Carbon Market Watch and others. Aircraft efficiency gains have been eclipsed by more air travel. And while companies are testing planes that run on clean electricity or hydrogen, replacing the entire commercial fleet could take decades.
SAF can come from cooking oil, corn, soybeans, algae, wood and even cities' solid waste streams. Refineries turn this organic matter into a fuel by heating it up and then removing impurities.
SAF can reduce net emissions 85 per cent compared to jet fuel, but at double to quadruple the cost.
Delta Air Lines signed a deal last year with Gevo to buy 75 million gallons of advanced renewable biofuels from corn each year. And Southwest Airlines is the first to use the fuel at Oakland's airport.
Even in a best-case scenario, however, most aircraft will have to keep burning fossil fuels for the next few decades. For some people, that will mean flying less or not at all. "The only sustainable way to fly today is not to fly," said European eco lobby Transport & Environment director Jo Dardenne.