Singapore will introduce a carbon credit program for sustainable aviation fuels in July, providing businesses and travelers with the option of paying additional costs to cut their carbon footprint when flying and transporting goods by air.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Singapore Airlines (SIA), and Temasek announced on Wednesday that they will start selling 1,000 credits for purchasing sustainable aviation fuel.
Under the project, all SIA and Scoot aircraft departing Changi Airport will be using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel and refined jet fuel for a year beginning in the third quarter of this year.
Sustainable aviation fuels, deriving from waste materials such as used cooking oil and animal fats, are currently three times more expensive than conventional jet fuel. The credit program is thus one option for airlines and governments to offset these expenses.
According to CAAS, SIA, and Temasek, the program should help assure higher demand for sustainable aviation fuels from airlines in the long run, promoting the development of the sustainable aviation fuel industry by giving manufacturers more confidence in increasing output.
The credits will first be sold to SIA’s business clients and freight forwarders, who will be able to acquire them directly from the airline. Freight forwarders can then sell the credits to downstream clients who want to decrease carbon emissions from their business operations.
In the fourth quarter of the year, this credit market will be offered to all SIA customers.
The global aviation industry has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. According to projections, widespread adoption of sustainable fuels would be critical in decreasing up to 66% of the sector’s emissions by 2050, with the rest coming from efficiency gains and other potential new technologies.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, commercial aviation emitted around 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, or about 2% of world emissions. Last year, as the aviation industry recovered from the plunge, airlines consumed all of the available 100 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel.
Singapore’s aviation and maritime sectors are both pursuing decarbonization, said S. Iswaran, the country’s Transport Minister. SIA, for example, has kept its fleet youthful, with an average age of roughly six years. With each new generation of aircraft normally being more fuel-efficient, SIA’s fleet is one of the most fuel-efficient in the world, he said.
