The Middle East and the quest for green air travel | Robin Mills

The Middle East and the quest for green air travel | Robin Mills

An airliner over Dubai’s coast, a single-engine helicopter and a Japan-Abu Dhabi flight: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has proven capable of powering air travel. But can supply rise and cost fall fast enough to make SAF a major part of the aviation industry’s journey to net-zero emissions?

While aviation is responsible for about two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, a small but fast-growing amount, it could be two to four times higher by 2050. Its impact on global warming is higher, about 3.5 percent, because of the formation of high-altitude condensation trails, or “contrails”, which trap heat.

Environmentalists have proposed avoiding air travel in favour of high-speed rail. This has a place, but with demand for flights likely to rise, low-carbon options are needed.