SWITCHING to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 will be a costly marathon for airports.
But it is possible.
This is the view of Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific and Middle East director general Stefano Baronci, who stressed the need for vital stakeholder engagements in prioritising sustainable growth.
The airport sector, he said, is the first to commit to net zero emission, a target shared by other aviation stakeholders and formalised at the last ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) assembly.
“From an airport perspective, we have to make sure the service on the ground can reach that level of due diligence from an environmental perspective; and you do that through the electrification of the service,” Mr Baronci told this newspaper in an interview in Suva yesterday.
He cited examples like the use of hybrid or electrical vehicles on the ground, renewable energy and solar panels for the region.
“And then of course, you have to create the right dialogue with the airlines to planning long term on how to reduce emissions of the aircraft.
“This is certainly a much more difficult challenge to win because it requires tools like SAF.
“The supply is still not there to meet the demand. The cost is still too high, and again, this is where partnership with supplier industries and authorities will be essential.”
Mr Baronci, who is in Fiji attending the 3rd Regional Aviation Ministers Meeting at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, said aviation stakeholders and authorities have been reaching a consensus, an area where industries, suppliers and authorities have to work together and prioritise their efforts.
That consensus has translated to the commitment during the last COP conference to reach 5 per cent of SAF by 2030.
“This is certainly a very important achievement,” he said. “As airports, we can do only to a certain extent but of course we have to create again the right environment, we have to prepare to install the right infrastructure when SAF will be ready.
“In my view it’s possible because it is the best way to reduce emissions. I don’t have the crystal ball for it but I think it requires the engagement of all.
“You need to work by adjusting your processes, by adjusting solutions, and this is what we have to commit to, all of us.
“At the moment it is very costly because supply is not enough, the price that is set for it is still very high.
The aspiration is that once the supply will be there, the cost will be lower and eventually will be economically sustainable.”
For the Pacific aviation sector to achieve this, he said coordination from the top was essential by having a policy framework, and to ensure to be able to monitor the price of SAF.
“We cannot play on our own, we cannot play in silos and this in my view is the most difficult part to manage but there is the commitment of the big airlines, the big airports of States to do so.”
NOTE: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fiji Times dated MARCH 22, 2025.
