Stimulus Packages Offer Golden Opportunity for SAF Launch

摘要

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has stepped up its lobbying efforts to advocate for the nascent sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) industry in the wake of eco-nomic devastation wrought by the global pandemic. Government stimulus packages in Europe and elsewhere pro-vide a golden opportunity to advance SAF developments toward commercial scale. IATA devoted its inaugural monthly webinar to the SAF cause following a survey of its Aviation Fuel Forum participants, which the group says underscores the huge importance that industry stakeholders assign to that issue (JFI May25’20). IATA’s Director of Environment Michael Gill pointed out that clear skies during Covid-19 lockdowns had only increased public awareness of environmental damage from air travel, and suggested that the economic stimulus packages likely to follow the pandemic offered a huge oppor-tunity for SAF: “It’s a win-win. SAF can produce jobs, boost economic output and improve energy security,” he said-with lack of investment the only obstacle standing in the way of those outcomes. Gill added that recent IATA surveys among passengers had found environmental mitigation high among their priorities, alongside biosecurity and quarantines. He also noted that many governments are attaching green conditions to state aid for struggling airlines (JFI Apr.20’20).