Eco-conscious flyers may be interested to learn that Air Canada is planning to buy a large batch of sustainable aviation fuel.
Fueling planes with alternative fuel -- made from waste materials like fats, grease, food and yard waste or wood chips -- is a growing movement in North America and Europe, used on 360,000 flights so far.
It's part of Air Canada's plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations by 2050, with specific reduction targets for air and ground operations by 2030 based on 2019 levels.
On 11NOV, the airline signed an agreement with Neste to purchase 77.6 million litres (20.5 million U.S. gallons) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
This purchase represents Air Canada's first commercial import of SAF into Canada.
"Air Canada is actively pursuing efforts to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions and SAF is a critical component of our multifaceted approach to reducing our impact on the environment and promoting environmental sustainability in our operations. This SAF purchase from Neste contributes significantly to our target of procuring SAF for one per cent of our estimated jet fuel use in 2025," said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer at Air Canada.
"While Air Canada and the Canadian aviation industry will continue to depend on imported SAF, SAF must also become available at scale in Canada to achieve our long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is why we at Air Canada are asking federal and provincial governments to play a role and support the development of a competitive SAF industry and production market in Canada."
"We are proud to expand our partnership with Air Canada by supplying them with a large volume of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for use at Vancouver Airport. It is the first time our SAF is supplied to Canada. It underlines our commitment to supporting the Canadian aviation industry in its efforts to mitigate emissions and also shows the important role that policy support can play in accelerating SAF usage. We look forward to continuing our excellent collaboration with Air Canada," said Carl Nyberg, Executive Vice President at Neste.
