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Vision for a Greener Sky

Sustainable aviation fuel can reduce life cycle emissions by as much as eighty percent compared with conventional jet fuel, making it the most viable option to decarbonise flying today. The Sustainable Markets Initiative selected Paul Griffiths chief executive of Dubai Airports to serve as chief champion of the SAF Pathfinder programme. His proven record guiding the busiest international airport network gives him unparalleled insight into how operations logistics and commercial agreements intersect.

Mobilising Investment and Policy Support

The Pathfinder framework unites airlines, energy companies’ financiers, and regulators to unlock the scale-up challenge. Core priorities include

• securing long term offtake agreements that de risk capital for new biorefineries
• harmonising sustainability standards so that fuel qualifies for incentives across jurisdictions
• coordinating supply chain infrastructure from pipeline upgrades to airport blending facilities
• advocating for price stability through predictable carbon market signals

Industry analysts forecast robust double-digit growth in SAF production volumes. Early momentum is strong. Multiple multilateral banks have opened discussions on blended finance structures, while energy innovators explore power to liquid pathways that pair renewable electricity with captured carbon dioxide.

A Non-Obvious Insight: Airport as Demand Catalyst

Airports rarely appear in fuel policy conversations, yet they control scheduling gate allocation and concession agreements. By integrating SAF usage targets into these operational levers an airport can motivate carriers more effectively than external regulation alone. Dubai Airports successful biodiesel ground fleet illustrates how facilities can create an ecosystem that normalises cleaner fuel choices for tenants’ service providers and passengers alike.

Conclusion

Paul Griffiths leadership positions sustainable aviation fuel at the heart of future air mobility strategies. Through collaborative investment streamlined standards and innovative airport centred incentives the SAF Pathfinder Initiative is set to accelerate adoption and deliver meaningful climate benefits while supporting continued growth in global connectivity.

Source – Travel and Tour World

Growing Appetite from Aviation and Maritime

The introduction of sustainable aviation fuel and low carbon marine fuel mandates in Europe North America and Asia has turbocharged demand for certified biomass. Airlines now publish roadmaps that target ten percent SAF use by twenty thirty, while several global shipping lines commit to carbon intensity reductions that require bio based blends in their bunkers. Policy certainty is turning long term power point promises into signed offtake contracts, creating momentum for capital deployment across the value chain.

Supply Chain Response to Tight Markets

Experienced feedstock aggregators are expanding collection of agricultural residues forest thinnings and municipal organics. Concurrently technology firms are accelerating commercialisation of fast pyrolysis hydrothermal liquefaction and alcohol to jet pathways that can handle diverse inputs. Recent United States Energy Information Administration data already shows an eight percent month on month increase in feedstock consumption, indicating early scaling success. Legislators are also supporting growth; the latest House appropriations package highlights guidance for small refinery exemptions and clarity on sustainability evaluation, giving producers greater visibility when engaging investors.

Industry will gather at the International Biomass Conference and Expo in Nashville and the co located North American Biocarbon Conference. More than nine hundred attendees one hundred sixty exhibitors and sixty five speakers plan to discuss commercial breakthroughs financing tools and collaboration opportunities. These events have become a matchmaking platform connecting airport consortia port authorities and renewable diesel refiners with innovators holding patented reactor designs.

A Non-Obvious Insight: Regional Circularity

Tighter global supply surprisingly reawakens local biomass networks. Orchard managers in California converting burn piles into high value biochar and community composting facilities in urban districts now see premium prices that previously flowed to traditional commodity crops. This regional circularity spreads economic benefits while shortening logistical distances, further enhancing the carbon advantage of biofuels.

Conclusion

Biomass markets are entering a virtuous growth cycle powered by clear transport mandates rising investor confidence and grassroots resource mobilisation. By aligning policy technology and local feedstock stewardship stakeholders can secure reliable supply chains that accelerate the transition toward net zero mobility.

Source – Biomass Magazine

Renewed Momentum in Brussels

High level meetings in Brussels this January injected fresh energy into the India European Union free trade negotiations. Despite fifteen earlier rounds both partners remain determined to close an agreement that balances development objectives with climate leadership. The European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism sits at the centre of conversations yet it also acts as a bridge encouraging shared innovation rather than an obstacle.

Opportunities Hidden inside the Challenge

CBAM will begin pricing carbon for iron steel cement and aluminium imports in twenty twenty six. Rather than seeing this as a cost alone Indian producers can treat the mechanism as a predictable signal that rewards early efficiency action. Investors are already scouting projects that electrify furnaces introduce green hydrogen and deploy circular material flows, unlocking access to sustainable finance instruments in Europe and Asia.

A Non-Obvious Insight: Domestic Carbon Funds

An emerging proposal suggests collecting a modest carbon fee at the Indian port of export and redirecting the proceeds toward local decarbonisation upgrades. Such a system would meet the EU accounting requirement while retaining resources within India for technology transfer skill development and research centres. This creative approach turns an external obligation into a national modernization engine.

Building a Phased Agreement

Negotiators are reportedly converging on a phased structure. Parallel capacity building schemes will give small exporters technical support and digital reporting tools. Less sensitive sectors may enjoy immediate tariff reductions, while detailed carbon accounting, certification protocols and small business assistance programmes enter transition roadmaps. This sequencing offers industry the breathing room needed to adjust processes without slowing bilateral trade growth.

Conclusion

The CBAM conversation has transformed the India EU partnership into a laboratory for equitable climate commerce. By exploring domestic carbon funding technology cooperation and smart phasing both economies can accelerate low carbon industrialisation and set an example for inclusive globalisation.

Source – Indias World

Understanding CORSIA in Simple Terms

International aviation is growing fast and so is its climate impact. To address this challenge, the global aviation community has introduced CORSIA, a coordinated framework that brings climate accountability into international flying while allowing the sector to continue connecting the world.

What CORSIA Really Is

CORSIA is a global carbon offsetting mechanism developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. It requires airlines operating international flights to compensate for the growth in carbon dioxide emissions above a defined baseline. Instead of limiting growth, it focuses on responsibility and balance.

Airlines meet their obligations by purchasing and cancelling approved emission units from high quality carbon projects. This creates a direct link between aviation activity and climate action, while supporting global carbon markets.

Why CORSIA Matters Beyond Aviation

CORSIA is the first global sector specific carbon pricing system. This makes it more than a compliance tool. It is often viewed as a testing ground for how international carbon markets can function across borders, standards and jurisdictions.

By aligning its first compliance phase with the Paris Agreement, CORSIA introduces safeguards such as host country authorization and protections against double counting. These elements strengthen trust in carbon markets and improve environmental integrity.

How the Framework Is Implemented

CORSIA is being rolled out in phases. Early stages are voluntary, allowing countries and airlines to build experience. From 2027 onward, participation becomes mandatory for most major aviation markets.

Airlines must monitor report and verify emissions annually. Every three years, offsetting requirements are calculated by authorities, followed by purchasing and cancellation of eligible emission units.

A Practical Signal for the Future

CORSIA shows that climate action in complex global sectors is possible when policy design is pragmatic and collaborative. It encourages airlines to think strategically about emissions, fuels and offsets rather than treating sustainability as a side obligation.

Conclusion

CORSIA represents a shift in how aviation engages with climate responsibility. It blends global coordination with market mechanisms and offers valuable lessons for other hard to abate sectors looking to move from ambition to action.

Source

The three efficiency levers

New research from the University of Oxford shows that airlines can cut between fifty and seventy five percent of their climate footprint without waiting for futuristic fuels. The secret is a trio of common sense measures that already exist inside the hangar.

Choose the most efficient aircraft

Every airline owns a mixed fleet. The study analysed more than twenty seven million flights and observed that the newest twin engine designs consume almost two thirds less fuel per passenger kilometre than older models. Strategically scheduling these fuel sipping jets on every route could trim global emissions by eleven percent immediately.

Reimagine cabin space

Premium cabins create comfort but occupy more floor area per traveller. By switching wide body aircraft to economy layouts airlines can add up to fifty percent more seats. More seats mean the same amount of fuel is shared across many additional journeys which multiplies efficiency without any new technology.

Fill every seat

Average load factors currently sit below eighty percent. Raising that figure to ninety five percent would cut another sixteen percent of emissions. One surprisingly simple tactic involves dynamic ticket pricing that rewards travellers who choose flights with empty seats, smoothing demand across the day.

Policy and business upside

Investors will appreciate that these measures align perfectly with profit. Newer aircraft reduce fuel bills, dense cabins lift revenue per litre of kerosene, and fuller planes improve margins. A non obvious insight from the study is that deploying efficient jets on the busiest one hundred city pairs alone would deliver almost one quarter of the total saving, illustrating the power of focusing on high frequency corridors first.

Conclusion

Efficiency may lack the glamour of hydrogen aircraft yet it delivers climate wins right now. By coordinating fleet assignment, cabin design and smart demand management, aviation can fly further on far less fuel while industry innovators continue developing tomorrow’s propulsion solutions.

Source – University of Oxford

Study Headlines

Researchers at the University of Oxford have modelled a scenario in which worldwide aviation emissions fall by up to seventy five percent using practical efficiency measures alone. The peer reviewed work analyses everything from lighter cabin fittings to improved flight routing and finds that a conservative package of existing solutions could already deliver a fifty percent cut, matching the ambition of many long term fuel mandates.

The Practical Toolkit

Key measures include continuous climb and descent, single engine taxiing, more efficient air traffic sequencing and modern composite seating. None require new aircraft designs or untested fuels. They simply involve adjusting procedures, upgrading software and adopting components that are widely certified. Importantly the study quantifies the combined effect rather than treating each measure in isolation, showing how incremental actions add up when deployed fleet wide.

Non-Obvious Economics

A striking, less discussed insight is how rapidly the savings repay themselves. The researchers note that reducing mass by just one kilogram on every global flight would cut fuel burn sufficiently to offset the cost of installing lighter service carts within a single season. With jet fuel prices historically volatile, this creates a natural hedge for airlines: efficiency investments protect balance sheets while slashing emissions. Moreover, because many interventions focus on optimizing existing ground operations, they can be rolled out at regional airports where capital budgets are limited, spreading benefits beyond flagship hubs.

Conclusion

The Oxford findings remind us that groundbreaking technology is not the only route to cleaner skies. By embracing an efficiency mindset, airlines, airports and regulators can lock in deep carbon reductions today while longer term fuel innovations scale. Collaboration on training and data sharing will be essential, but the toolkit is already on the shelf and ready to fly.

Source – BusinessGreen

A First For the ISCC CORSIA PLUS Protocol

Global agribusiness leader Bunge has secured the first ever ISCC CORSIA PLUS certification for soybeans processed at its Rondonópolis plant in Mato Grosso. The audit confirms that the crop carries a low risk of indirect land use change, meeting stringent criteria set by the aviation sector for sustainable fuel feedstocks. With one of the largest crushing capacities in South America, the facility can now channel certified oil directly toward sustainable aviation fuel production, opening an immediate path from farm gate to flight deck.

How Low ILUC Soy Benefits Airlines

Airlines governed by the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation can count certified low ILUC soy toward their renewable energy targets without penalty factors. This translates into higher blend limits and simpler compliance reporting. Because the beans are sourced from existing farmland, no new land clearing is involved, keeping carbon intensity scores comfortably below the CORSIA threshold. Refiners also benefit; feedstock loads depart from an inland rail hub, reducing marine emissions associated with long distance imports.

Non-Obvious Market Ripple

A quietly powerful effect of this certification is price discovery. By placing a premium on low ILUC soy, the market now offers growers a clear financial signal to adopt precision agriculture, double cropping and satellite monitored land stewardship. Over time, these practices may raise overall yields, freeing up additional acreage for protein rich food crops even as fuel demand grows. Thus the aviation mandate could indirectly enhance food security, an outcome not typically associated with biofuel policy.

Conclusion

Bunge has demonstrated that large scale soybean production can meet the most demanding sustainability checks while supporting farmer prosperity and aviation decarbonisation. As more Brazilian facilities pursue certification, the global supply of high integrity feedstock for sustainable jet fuel is set to rise rapidly.

Source – OFI

Filling the Gap

Trade finance, the circulatory system of global commerce, has long lacked a common language for sustainability. The International Chamber of Commerce has now approved a comprehensive rule set that defines what counts as green, social and sustainability linked across letters of credit, guarantees and supply chain programs. This achievement follows consultations with more than one hundred banks, corporates and civil society groups, reflecting appetite for clear guidance that keeps transactions moving while satisfying environmental priorities.

Three Pillars Explained

• Green Trade Finance Principles address projects with explicit environmental benefits such as renewable energy equipment or energy saving technologies.
• Social Trade Finance Principles introduce a use of proceeds framework that verifies positive outcomes like improved access to health services or fair labour standards.
• Sustainability Linked Supply Chain Finance Principles focus on governance, directing attention to credible performance indicators and third party verification rather than simple labels.

Together these pillars create a single toolkit that lenders can embed directly into credit policies, allowing comparable disclosures and reducing the risk of greenwashing.

Non-Obvious Advantage

Beyond reputation management, the framework offers a hidden commercial edge: better data symmetry. Because all three pillars require consistent documentation of outcomes, exporters and importers will start producing granular information on energy use and social metrics as part of ordinary trade paperwork. Banks can harness this data to refine risk models, potentially lowering capital requirements for well performing clients. In other words, sustainability reporting could evolve from a cost centre into a credit enhancer, opening room for more competitive pricing and greater deal volume.

Conclusion

The ICC Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance give market participants a clear, practical map for aligning profitability with positive impact. Their success will depend on adoption, yet early endorsements from major banks suggest momentum is building fast. A common vocabulary is now in place; the conversation can proceed.

Source – Global Trade Review

How the process works

Researchers are pairing green hydrogen with captured CO2 to create syngas through the reverse water gas shift reaction. This syngas feeds the well understood Fischer Tropsch synthesis, producing hydrocarbons that can be refined into jet fuel fully compatible with existing aircraft and airport infrastructure. Because the chemistry mirrors traditional refinery operations, certification pathways are clear and risk limited.

Encouraging economics

A recent academic study calculated a minimum fuel selling price near three euro per litre today, falling below two euro when carbon credits exceed two hundred euro per tonne. That figure aligns with mandated sustainable fuel blending quotas arriving across Europe between twenty thirty and twenty thirty five. Leveraging cheap renewable electricity from offshore wind further narrows the gap with fossil kerosene.

Decarbonisation potential

Lifecycle analysis shows greenhouse impact plunges by ninety percent, and even moving toward net negative when renewable power and direct air capture are combined. Each tonne of eSAF replaces three point one tonnes of conventional jet fuel emissions, offering policymakers a scalable lever to meet International Civil Aviation Organization targets.

Hidden advantage: oxygen valorisation

A less discussed insight concerns the pure oxygen co produced by water electrolysis. Supplying this oxygen to the reverse water gas shift reactor improves reaction kinetics and heat management,

reducing overall plant energy demand by up to five percent. The improvement seems small yet translates into significant savings across a commercial scale plant, shortening payback time and lowering ticket surcharges for passengers.

Conclusion

Electro sustainable aviation fuel derived from reverse water gas shift and Fischer Tropsch technology moves quickly from laboratory to bankable project. Falling renewable power costs, supportive policy and clever integration of by products promise clean flights without changing engines or airports. The aviation climate challenge now has a practical molecular solution.

Source – ScienceDirect