Ongoing emissions from
… greenwashed fuels and engines
‘SUSTAINABLE’ AVIATION FUELS
The aviation industry uses marketing greenwash and accounting tricks to mislead you into thinking that actual flight emissions from ‘Sustainable’ Aviation Fuel (SAF) are a fraction of those from fossil jet fuel. A jet never burns pure SAF, so a common 50:50 blend with fossil jet fuel doubles claimed emissions. And actual flight CO2 emissions are additionally more than claimed, by the amount of CO2 drawn down in making the fuel. Furthermore SAF still creates non-CO2 emissions twice as warming as actual flight CO2 emissions.
• Qantas Escalates Sustainable Aviation Fuel Investment as Global Aviation Industry Targets Net-Zero Emissions by 2050
https://serrarigroup.com/qantas-escalates-sustainable-aviation-fuel-investment-as-global-aviation-industry-targets-net-zero-emissions-by-2050/
• Qantas Sustainability Report 2025
https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20250905/pdf/06nw0dw9w0xvsq.pdf
• Clean jet fuel clears airlines for take-off
https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/government-pumps-in-1-1b-to-fund-clean-jet-fuels-20250917-p5mvpw
• Federal government makes major investment in cleaner fuels
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/aca-on-demand/federal-government-makes-major-investment-in-cleaner-fuels/105781970
• New production incentive for low carbon liquid fuels
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/new-prod-incentive-low-carbon-liquid-fuels
• Transport will make or break Australia’s new climate plan – and time is running out to fix it
https://theconversation.com/transport-will-make-or-break-australias-new-climate-plan-and-time-is-running-out-to-fix-it-265986
• Shell scraps construction of biofuels plant in Rotterdam
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/03/shell-scraps-construction-of-biofuels-plant-in-rotterdam
• Evaluating the performance and emission reduction potential of 100% HEFA sustainable aviation fuel in small-scale turbofan engine
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431125030935
• We have enough feedstock to meet Sustainable Aviation Fuel needs, says IATA
https://australianaviation.com.au/2025/09/we-have-enough-feedstock-to-meet-sustainable-fuel-needs-says-iata/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/395600344_Toward_sustainable_aviation_An_integrated_assessment_of_SAF_feasibility_and_readiness_in_Philippine_airlines
• Global Feedstock Assessment for SAF Production:Outlook to 2050
https://www.iata.org/globalassets/iata/publications/sustainability/global-feedstock-assessment-for-saf-production-outlook-to-2050.pdf
• IATA Study Confirms that SAF Technology Rollout is Main Bottleneck to Net Zero, not Feedstock Availability
https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-releases/2025-09-23-01/
• Sustainable fuels could slash aviation emissions despite rapid traffic growth
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/sustainable-fuels-could-slash-aviation-emissions-despite-rapid-traffic-growth-report
• Turning SAF Promises into SAF Production
https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/opinions/turning-saf-promises-into-saf-production/
• Maritime, air transport decarbonization attracts investment
https://valorinternational.globo.com/cop30-brazil/news/2025/09/19/maritime-air-transport-decarbonization-attracts-investment.ghtml
• Future aviation study shows path to near zero emissions by 2070
https://www.spacedaily.com/m/reports/Future_aviation_study_shows_path_to_near_zero_emissions_by_2070_999.html
• More targeted and faster measures needed to overcome barriers and unlock SAF’s full potential, finds PA study
https://www.greenairnews.com/?p=7972
• Belimo drives greenhouse gas emissions reduction through SAF and strategic collaboration with Swiss worldcargo and Lamprecht Transport
https://aircargoweek.com/belimo-drives-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reduction-through-saf-and-strategic-collaboration-with-swiss-worldcargo-and-lamprecht-transport/
• Sustainable transport investment plan
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14802-Sustainable-transport-investment-plan_en
• DHL and Cathay Partnership Advances Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Asia
https://vurdhaan.com/dhl-and-cathay-partnership-advances-sustainable-aviation-fuel-in-asia/
• World’s First Ethanol-to-Jet Fuel Plant Set for Liftoff: A Game-Changer for Sustainable Aviation
https://www.datainsightsmarket.com/news/article/worlds-first-ethanol-to-jet-fuel-plant-launches-greener-air-travel-here-80636
• An Alternative Pathway To Sustainable Aviation Fuel
https://safmagazine.com/articles/an-alternative-pathway-to-sustainable-aviation-fuel
• Russia Introduces First Aviation Fuel with Low Carbon Footprint
https://globalenergyprize.org/en/2025/09/05/russia-introduces-first-aviation-fuel-with-low-carbon-footprint/
• Moeve joins alliance of Global Impact Coalition member companies to advance e-SAF and low-carbon chemicals pathway in Europe
https://www.moeveglobal.com/en/press/moeve-global-impact-e-saf
• Evaluating Criteria for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Adoption
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-89869-3_17
• Inside the search for sustainable aviation fuels, which are on the federal chopping block
https://www.theinvadingsea.com/2025/09/04/sustainable-aviation-fuel-big-beautiful-bill-trump-climate-change-carbon-emissions-biofuels/
• Why China’s national carbon market is unlikely to include aviation in the near term
https://www.greenairnews.com/?p=7959
• Sustainable fuels could reduce the climate impact of military aircraft
https://theconversation.com/sustainable-fuels-could-reduce-the-climate-impact-of-military-aircraft-264792
• Why ecosystems are key to building SAF supply
https://www.flightglobal.com/opinion/why-ecosystems-are-key-to-building-saf-supply/164364.article
• EU Awards ETS Emissions Allowances To 53 Aircraft Operators To Support SAF Use
https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/eu-awards-ets-emissions-allowances-to-53-aircraft-operators-to-support-saf-useETS
E-FUELS
• ORLEN VC Invests in Synthetic Aviation Fuel Technology
https://chemxplore.com/news/orlen-vc-invests-in-breakthrough-technology-to-produce-synthetic-aviation-fuel
… growth in flights
• International aviation emissions reductions critically insufficient
https://climateactiontracker.org/sectors/aviation/
• Aviation not on track
https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation
… non-CO2 emissions
• Greenhouse gas controls alone won’t align aviation with Paris agreement
https://theicct.org/pr-greenhouse-gas-controls-alone-wont-align-aviation-with-the-paris-agreement/
• The social costs of aviation CO2 and contrail cirrus
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64355-5
• ICAO considers research suggesting contrail reduction more effective than net-zero CO2 targets
https://www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/icao-reviews-data-showing-contrail-reduction-more-important-than-net-zero-co2/164655.article
… regulatory failure
ICAO
• ‘Corporate capture’ of UN aviation body by industry
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/19/revealed-corporate-capture-un-aviation-body-icao
MISSED TARGETS
• Just one of 50 aviation industry climate targets met, study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/10/just-one-of-50-aviation-industry-climate-targets-met-study-finds
… delusional scenarios
NET ZERO 2050
Net zero emissions by 2050 allows ongoing emissions and subtracts from them carbon drawdown needed to cool an already dangerously hot planet.
• Transport and Infrastructure: Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/transport-and-infrastructure-net-zero-roadmap-and-action-plan.pdf
• Iata issues ‘call to action’ over drive towards net zero aviation emissions by 2050
https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/iata-issues-call-to-action-over-drive-towards-net-zero-aviation-emissions-by-2050
• The rise of zero-emission aviation
https://bluecloud.uno/en/the-rise-of-zero-emission-aviation/2025/#the-rise-of-zero-emission-aviation-eRDytonSxI
INCREASING FUEL EFFICIENCY
• The cost of abatement options to reduce carbon emissions from Australian international flights
https://www.academia.edu/107901860/The_cost_of_abatement_options_to_reduce_carbon_emissions_from_Australian_international_flights
• Smarter seating is driving down flight emissions intensity
https://reports.cirium.com/00610-aug-2025-flight-emissions-digest-spread_content-piece_/full-view.html
• Eco-Friendly Aviation: Look Mom, Engine-Free Airplane Taxi
https://www.flyingmag.com/eco-friendly-aviation-look-mom-engine-free-airplane-taxi/
• How Flying Lighter Can Revolutionize Aviation Sustainability
https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2025/09/09/how-flying-lighter-can-revolutionize-aviation-sustainability/
OFFSETS
When all sectors need to reduce their emissions to zero, the aviation industry buys/offsets the reductions of others in order to grow its own emissions. When the planet is already dangerously hot, offsets steal carbon drawdown needed to cool the planet to excuse further emissions. Carbon offsetting cuts neither flight emissions or 420+ppm atmospheric CO2.
• Australian airline retires mostly voluntary carbon credits as emissions rise
https://carbon-pulse.com/431924/
• Qantas retires 364kt of carbon credits amid rising emissions
https://www.qcintel.com/carbon/article/qantas-retires-364kt-of-carbon-credits-amid-rising-emissions-48070.html
• Some air travelers bothered by their flight’s emissions turn to carbon offsets. Do they work?
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/air-travelers-bothered-flights-emissions-turn-carbon-offsets-126036997
• IATA hikes Corsia demand forecast almost 50% for current phase
https://www.qcintel.com/carbon/article/iata-hikes-corsia-credit-demand-forecast-50-for-current-phase-48082.html
• Aviation industry group raises CORSIA forecast, placing Phase 1 credit demand as high as 236 mln
https://carbon-pulse.com/432499/
… infrastructure expansions
AIRPORTS
• Gatwick given green light for £2.2bn second runway plan
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/gatwick-given-green-light-for-22bn-second-runway-plan
• Can the UK expand airports and still hit climate targets?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2jpn881w0o
• Riga Airport Aims to Achieve Climate Neutrality in 10 Years
https://www.baltictimes.com/riga_airport_aims_to_achieve_climate_neutrality_in_10_years/
• Copenhagen Airport adopts Assaia’s emissions monitoring
https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/09/copenhagen-airport-apu-assaia/
• New Danish measures emerge to reduce aviation’s air and ground emissions
https://www.greenairnews.com/?p=7990
Reducing emissions
… through grounded travel
RAIL
• 3 Reasons why flights are far cheaper than trains and why that has to change
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/78154/3-reasons-why-flights-are-far-cheaper-than-trains-and-why-that-has-to-change/
… zero emissions flight
ELECTRIC FLIGHT
• Electric aviation awaits a battery breakthrough
https://en.ittefaq.com.bd/13502/electric-aviation-awaits-a-battery-breakthrough
• EU selects ATR to lead low-emission regional aviation projects
https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/atr-hybrid-electric-regional-aircraft-test/
• Zero Emission Aircraft Market
https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/zero-emission-aircraft-market
… flight reductions
NIGHT FLIGHTS
• International Day for the Ban on Night Flights
https://stay-grounded.org/ban-night-flights/
Climate impacts on aviation
• How Climate Change is Impacting Airport Noise
https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/how-climate-change-is-impacting-airport-noise-what-travelers-and-locals-near-heathrow-gatwick-and-major-european-hubs-should-know/
• Airports will get noisier as Earth gets warmer
https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Airports-will-get-noisier-as-Earth-gets-warmer
Counting emissions
FLIGHT EMISSIONS DATA
• Aviation needs better measurement to deliver meaningful decarbonisation
https://www.greenairnews.com/?p=7995
The climate emergency
• Risk Realism: Cooling a Livable Planet
https://youtu.be/bTQ-xjgtA5E?si=x-iJHPxUwvdMITx-
• Cooling the Climate: How to Revive the Biosphere and Cool the Earth Within 20 Years
https://ethicspress.com/products/cooling-the-climate
• Possible North Atlantic overturning circulation shutdown after 2100 in high-emission future
https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/possible-north-atlantic-overturning-circulation-shutdown-after-2100-in-high-emission-future
• Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/28/collapse-critical-atlantic-current-amoc-no-longer-low-likelihood-study
• A climate-first foreign policy for Australia
https://www.aslcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ASLCG-ClimateFirstForeignPolicy.pdf
• Systematic attribution of heatwaves to the emissions of carbon majors
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09450-9
• GHGs from human activity at record high in 2024
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2730350-ghgs-from-human-activity-at-record-high-in-2024-report
