Global production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to reach around 2.4 million tonnes in 2026, representing just 0.8% of total aviation fuel consumption, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the aviation industry’s net-zero ambitions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).IATA estimates that airlines will spend about $4.3 billion on SAF this year, even as production remains well below the levels needed to meet the sector’s long-term decarbonization goals.Willie Walsh, IATA Director General, said: “This looks to be another disappointing year for SAF production. After five years of committing to achieving net zero by 2050, SAF production will account for just 0.8% of jet fuel use this year. The path to meeting 65% of our needs in 2050 is getting more difficult with each year of ineffectively cascaded government policies and oil companies’ apparent disinterest.”Walsh said the current energy crisis should accelerate investment in renewable fuels, but policy support remains insufficient.He added: “The current energy shock should add more urgency to the development of renewables, including SAF. But we have not yet seen the energy shock, the need to develop energy independence and jobs, or the urgent need to mitigate climate change materialize into the incentives needed to create a viable SAF market.”
According to the International Air Transport Association, accelerating Sudanese Air Force production will require coordinated action across four key priorities.This includes expanding renewable energy supplies to ensure sufficient feedstocks and clean energy for SAF production, ensuring open access to fuel infrastructure such as pipelines, storage facilities and airport fuel systems, enhancing production incentives and investment frameworks, and enabling a global SAF market at commercially viable prices.“The reservation and claim system is essential to transform the SAF market from domestic to global by making it available to airlines and SAF producers regardless of their headquarters. The global SAF market must also be supported by harmonized standards that create permanent rules and fair competition,” IATA said.Electro-SAF, or e-SAF, will also play an increasingly important role in aviation decarbonisation efforts, the industry body said.Produced through a power-to-liquid process using renewable electricity, green hydrogen, water and carbon dioxide, E-SAF is seen as a key long-term solution to reducing aviation emissions.However, the International Air Transport Association warned that production capacity remains far behind policy ambitions.The EU and UK have mandated eSAF production of around 0.6 million tonnes by 2030, but global operating capacity and under construction currently stands at just 0.02 million tonnes, with only one production facility in operation.According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), around 20 commercial-scale refineries will be needed to meet the required volumes, however no new final investment decisions for e-SAF projects have been announced over the past year.“The 2030 E-SAF targets set by the UK and EU are unrealistic – they are completely divorced from reality. It is a reckless energy market creation strategy to impose mandates before enabling production. Such a strategy will only drive up prices.
“Combined with sanctions, it diverts scarce resources from actual CO2 reductions,” said Mary Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist.“The strategy is also puzzling given that Europe has the highest renewable energy prices in the world. A serious strategy would first scale up renewable energy production to bring down its prices and build e-SAF production capacity on sound economics.
Only at this point can states achieve the desired results, Thomsen added.The latest passenger survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in April 2026 showed strong support for decarbonization efforts in the aviation sector.According to the poll, 89% of passengers believe that the airline industry should continue to reduce emissions even if governments scale back their climate initiatives. A similar proportion said air travel remains essential and should be sustainable rather than restricted.The survey also found that about 66% of passengers are willing to pay more to offset emissions, while nearly 88% expect ticket prices to rise due to sustainability investments.Passengers also showed a preference for direct carbon removal measures. About 25% preferred directing funds toward developing the Sudanese Armed Forces, and 23% supported emissions-reducing technologies, compared to only 10% who preferred environmental taxes.Sustainability is also increasingly influencing consumer choices. Nearly half of travelers said they consider carbon emissions when choosing flights, and of those who do, more than 85% said emissions data influences their decisions.
