IATA has criticised Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production levels and said that zero emissions are looking increasingly difficult to hit.
The airline association said that this year SAF production is expected to reach around 2.4m tonnes, up 25% from 2025 levels.
However, the growth rate is down from the 90% increase registered in 2025 and the total amount produced represents “just” 0.8% of aviation fuel use. In 2025, SAF accounted for 0.6% of jet fuel.
IATA director general Willie Walsh said the slow progress of SAF production would put pressure on airlines’ ability to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target that has been set for the industry.
To achieve the target, IATA believes 65% of jet fuel will need to be SAF by 2050.
“It looks to be another disappointing year for SAF production,” said Walsh. “Five years after committing to achieve net zero by 2050, SAF production will only account for 0.8% of airline fuel use this year.
“The path to meeting 65% of our needs in 2050 is growing more difficult with each year of ineffectively sequenced government policies and oil companies’ manifest lack of interest.
“The current energy shock should add even more urgency to the development of renewables, including SAF. But we have yet to see either the energy shock, the need to develop energy independence and jobs, or the urgency to mitigate climate change materialise in the incentives needed to create a viable SAF market.”
To help increase SAF production levels, IATA would like to see sufficient volumes at commercially viable prices for airlines’ financial and economic sustainability.
It added that a book-and-claim system is essential to transform the SAF market from “local to global” by making it accessible to airlines and SAF producers regardless of their domicile.
“A global SAF market must also be supported by harmonised standards that create enduring rules and fair competition,” IATA added.
Elsewhere, IATA would like to see renewable energy supply expanded to ensure sufficient feedstocks and clean energy are available; ensure open access to fuel infrastructure, including pipelines, storage, and airport fuel systems and policy support through effective sequencing of production incentives and investment frameworks that provide certainty and reduce risk before any mandates are imposed.
IATA was also critical of e-SAF mandates introduced by the European Union and the UK. E-SAF does not require biomass or waste oils, but does require large amounts of renewable electricity, green hydrogen, water, and CO2.
The EU and the UK have mandated e-SAF production of around 0.6m tonnes by 2030 but production capacity currently operating and under construction stands at around 0.02m tonnes.
“The 2030 e-SAF targets by the UK and the EU are beyond unrealistic – they are utterly detached from reality,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice president of sustainability and chief economist.
“It is a reckless energy market creation strategy to impose mandates before production is enabled. Such a strategy will only drive up the price. Coupled with penalties, it diverts scarce resources from being allocated to actual CO2 emissions reductions.
“The strategy is also bewildering given that Europe has the highest renewable energy prices in the world. A serious strategy would first scale renewable energy production to drive its price down and build the e-SAF production capacity on sound economics.”
