The aviation industry is not moving fast enough to meet its goals for sustainable fuel production and use, according to IATA director Willie Walsh. the organization that brings together airlines, at a time when the sector aspires to achieve net zero emissions in 2050.
“We are not making as much progress as we expected and, of course, “We are not making as much progress as we need to.”Walsh said at an IATA press day in Geneva.
According to IATA data, Sustainable aviation fuel represents only 0.3% of global jet fuel consumption and is expected to represent only 0.7% by 2025. Experts say the pace of production of this green fuel must increase rapidly for the sector to meet its emissions targets.
An IATA study presented on Tuesday showed that global production of green jet fuel in 2024 was only one million tonnes, below IATA’s projection a year ago of 1.5 million tonnes.
Walsh pointed out the lack of biorefineries under construction that can produce this fuel, many of which require large investments for their construction.
The Iata has repeatedly urged Big Oil to take responsibility for increasing production of sustainable aviation fuelrather than the airlines, which do not produce the fuel themselves.
IATA announced that next year it will launch a project to better monitor global initiatives on green aviation fuels, in order to give more transparency to the progress of the sector.
According to Walsh, Europe is lagging behind the United States in creating incentives to boost investment in production facilities.
