When European officials set bold targets for sustainable fuels in aviation, you’d be forgiven for thinking they believed jet fuel grows on the vine next to the Pinot Noir. Willie Walsh, the man steering the International Air Transport Association (IATA), pulled no punches in Singapore, pointing out that these targets are, if anything, a gentle nod to fantasy.
According to Walsh, counting on the airlines to magically operate on sustainable fuels is like trusting a paper umbrella in a monsoon. He called the European Union’s goals for mandatory use of alternative fuels such as SAF (that’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel, for those behind on this season’s acronyms) flat-out “impossible” under current supply realities. The trouble is simple—there isn’t enough sustainable fuel to go around, and what little does exist costs more than most tourists’ hotel upgrades.
The targets read like an overzealous New Year’s resolution: 2% sustainable fuels this year, then ramping up to 6% by 2030, before reaching a whopping 70% by 2050. Yet, even the cheerleaders in the industry know this script needs a rewrite. Airlines for Europe, representing 17 air carriers, expects that 2030 production will fall short by approximately 30%. And that’s not just a rounding error.
Political Theatre, Practical Hurdles, and a Long Line at the Fuel Pump
Walsh, never one to mince words, accused Brussels of channelling optimism as policy, setting quotas based on wishful thinking rather than what refineries might produce. “The EU should look before it leaps,” he said [paraphrased to death], “otherwise, goals are about as useful as a diet book at an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
The plot thickens with a twist worthy of any satirical travelogue: airlines sometimes source sustainable fuels from outside the EU to comply with local regulations. That’s right—shipping fuel across continents to be green, because nothing says ‘eco-friendly’ like extra tankers tripling the carbon footprint.
The aviation sector, for all the slings and arrows, accounts for about 3% of global carbon emissions. Nuts and bolts: planes are hard to decarbonise. Conventional fuels are still the key ingredient that keeps engines running. While sustainable fuels—sourced from the likes of used cooking oil and other appetising industrial byproducts—are billed as a hope for zero emissions by mid-century, the gap between aspiration and action remains wider than some airline seat rows.
Yet, even with his fondness for deflating optimism, Walsh affirmed that aviation isn’t walking away from the bigger climate commitment. Net zero by 2050 remains the destination, provided reality and regulation can come together and catch up. IATA has never been shy about its doubts on short-term quotas, insisting that fantasy isn’t a fuel source, and you can’t lace mandatory targets with pixie dust.
The Puzzling Road Ahead
Europe’s push for sustainable fuels highlights, not for the first time, the complex issue of greening travel. While political leaders sell the dream of low-emission getaways, the market lags, still in need of serious investment and infrastructure if it plans to deliver the green flight experience to tourists who don’t want to check their conscience at the gate.
The debate, now a familiar tune in airports and parliament halls alike, feels a bit like asking for vegan options at a steakhouse. You might get served something, but it probably didn’t come from local produce. European ambitions, noble on paper, remain perilously detached from the sluggish rise of sustainable fuel production and the glaring realities of high costs.
Is aviation ready to go green at scale? Tourists and travellers would do well not to hold their breath—or, for that matter, their boarding passes—waiting for biofuel-powered paradise. At least not until more than hope fills the tank.
