California inks sustainable aviation fuel deal with major airlines

California signed an agreement Wednesday with the country’s leading passenger and cargo airlines to accelerate the use of sustainable aviation fuels across the state.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Airlines for America (A4A) — an industry trade group representing almost a dozen airlines — pledged to increase the availability of sustainable aviation fuels statewide.

Sustainable aviation fuels — lower-carbon alternatives to petroleum-based jet fuels — are typically made from nonpetroleum feedstocks, such as biomass or waste. 

At a San Francisco International Airport ceremony Wednesday, the partners committed to using 200 million gallons of such fuels by 2035 — an amount estimated to meet about 40 percent of travel demand within the state at that point, according to CARB.

That quantity also represents a more than tenfold increase from current usage levels of these fuels, the agency added.

“This is a major step forward in our work to cut pollution, protect our communities, and build a future of cleaner air and innovative climate solutions,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement.

Among A4A member airlines are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air Worldwide, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and UPS, while Air Canada is an associate member.

To achieve the 2035 goals, CARB and A4A said they plan to work together to identify, assess and prioritize necessary policy measures, such as incentivizing relevant investments and streamlining the permitting processes.

A Sustainable Aviation Fuel Working Group, which will include government and industry stakeholders, will meet annually to both discuss progress and address barriers toward meeting these goals, the partners added.

A public website will display updated information about the availability and use of conventional and sustainable fuels across California, while also providing details about state policies, according to the agreement.

“We’ve put the tools in place to incentivize cleaner fuels and spur innovation, creating opportunities like this to radically change how Californians can travel cleaner,” Newsom said.

Kevin Welsh, chief sustainability officer for A4A, stressed the importance of this government-private sector partnership, which he described as “necessary to achieve ambitious climate goals.”

This effort will help support the “industry’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” he added, referring to a 2021 resolution passed by the International Air Transport Association.

Like the U.S. airline industry, the federal government has also mounted a push for the integration of sustainable aviation fuel — offering tax credits for its use via the Inflation Reduction Act.

Nonetheless, some experts maintain that sustainable aviation fuel is anything but sustainable, since plant-based fuel sourcing can require the diversion of valuable lands away from crop cultivation and thereby increase emissions.

The World Resources Institute noted that 1.7 gallons of corn ethanol are required to make 1 gallon of sustainable aviation fuel — necessitating corn acreage expansion that could jeopardize forests and grasslands.

The agreement signed Wednesday, however, expressed a commitment to “ensuring the sustainability and environmental integrity of feedstocks” by prioritizing the use wastes and residues in these power sources.

“This partnership with the nation’s leading airlines brings the aviation industry onboard to advance a clean air future,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement.

The agreement, Randolph added, will accelerate the “development of sustainable fuel options and promote cleaner air travel within the state.”