Holland-Kaye says the rich should pay more for using SAF,…
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos (which is attended by a lot of high carbon emission companies) the CEO of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, has said that in order for the industry to meet targets for the use of so called “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF) someone is going to have to pay more for air tickets, in order to pay for it. He said rich travelers will have to pay more to fly if the aviation industry is to transition to SAF, as they are hugely more expensive than conventional kerosene. If the rich, including most in rich countries, and businesses pay more, then tickets could cost less for people in poor countries. Of course, the best way to cut aviation CO2 is for people to fly less, but that idea is anathema to Holland-Kaye and his industry. SAF is expensive to develop, and the industry already has a lot of government subsidy, to develop its production. But it is unjust for the population, many of whom never or rarely fly, to have to pay for this fuel, for the minority who fly frequently. SAF is the only tool the industry has, to try to cut CO2 emissions, while increasing flights and passengers. However, in 2019 it accounted for just 0.1% of jet fuel used in commercial aviation, and the sector hopes it will make up 0% of global jet fuel by 2030. .Tweet The rich should pay higher fares to clean up aviation, says Heathrow boss By Hanna Ziady, CNN January 17, 2023 Rich travelers will have to pay more to fly if the aviation industry is to transition to greener fuels, the boss of one of the world’s biggest airports said Tuesday. Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos hosted by CNN’s Richard Quest, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said that wealthy individuals and companies should pay extra to fly with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in order to bring the costs down for everyone else, particularly people in developing countries. He said that financiers and energy suppliers should invest in SAF production, including in emerging markets. “But as individuals and companies we need to be paying the premium for sustainable aviation fuels so that we can get the cost of it down so that the mass market and developing countries don’t have to pay for the energy transition. The wealthy people in this room and wealthy nations should be funding the energy transition in aviation to help support developing countries,” he added. Holland-Kaye said the solution to sustainable aviation was not to fly less, which was not necessarily an option outside Northern Europe, but to use cleaner sources of energy to travel. Air Company’s CTO and Co-Founder Dr. Stafford Sheehan told CNN the company’s next facility will be “around 100 times the scale” of its pilot facility. SAF is viewed as critical to reducing aviation’s carbon emissions but its green credentials come at a hefty price. Some airlines allow passengers to offset their CO2 emissions by paying more for their tickets to cover the extra cost of using SAF, but very few travelers currently make use of this option. Holland-Kaye said that companies can play a major role accelerating the adoption of SAF
