MEXICO CITY, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Two of Latin America’s top airlines – Chilean carrier LATAM and Mexico’s Aeromexico – are considering alternatives to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which remains in short supply in the region, as a means to cut carbon emissions.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Aviation is a heavily polluting industry due to the jet fuel used to power planes. The sector agrees that the transition to using SAFs is a priority to reach net-zero carbon emissions commitments, and some countries have rolled out incentive programs or regulations setting minimum percentage targets for SAF use.
However, fuel feedstocks made from waste products such as used cooking oils and crop residues remain in short supply and are much costlier than traditional fuel.
CONTEXT
Aeromexico has been piggybacking off U.S. carrier Delta’s tie-ups for SAF supply, an Aeromexico executive told journalists, capitalizing on a years-long partnership.
Aeromexico also makes use of so-called “book-and-claim” deals, said Karen Farias, the carrier’s head of environmental, social, and governance matters. This allows airlines to offset emissions by purchasing credits originating from the use of SAF by other carriers.
Sugarcane is in plentiful supply and could be an option for producing SAF in Mexico and Paraguay, LATAM Airlines’ Mexico head Diana Olivares said at an event hosted by ProChile.
Construction is currently under way on an SAF plant in Paraguay that will use cooking oils and soybean oil.
And both LATAM and Aeromexico are rolling out artificial-intelligence programs to monitor and make fuel usage more efficient, the airlines’ executives said.
KEY QUOTES
“Airlines have a bad reputation for being really contaminating,” Olivares said. “But it’s something we’re working very hard on.”
“We can’t just say: ‘Well this is hard,’ because we’re going to fall behind,” Farias said.
BY THE NUMBERS
Aviation is responsible for about 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to data shared by Aeromexico.
Swapping out traditional fuel for SAFs represents “about 60% of the solution” in bringing airlines’ emissions down, Olivares said.
