Sustainable Aviation Fuels:
A 30,000 Foot Perspective
Chapter 5
Regulatory and Policy Frameworks

These initiatives include market-based measures, direct production incentives, and national directives. Detailed insights on compliance, monitoring, reporting, and economic structures are provided, highlighting the importance of innovation, global collaboration, and strategic policies. Understanding these protocols is crucial for industry members to navigate and strategize effectively for a sustainable aviation future.

Within these pages, key global initiatives like the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and nation-specific strategies such as the US SAF Grand Challenge and the UK’s Jet Zero campaign are meticulously examined. These diverse approaches, from market-based measures to direct production incentives and national directives, all converge on the shared ambition of curbing aviation’s carbon footprint.

The reader is provided with detailed accounts of how these regulations are reshaping airline operations, the intricacies of required monitoring and reporting frameworks, and the economic structures that facilitate the shift to SAFs. The discourse elucidates the actions airlines must undertake to comply with these norms and how these measures contribute to the broader emission reduction goals of the aviation industry.

This chapter stands as an invaluable compendium for aviation industry members, policy architects, and environmental proponents eager to comprehend the present and emerging protocols that govern SAF production and utilization. It underscores the pivotal role of innovation, global collaboration, and strategic policy and financial synergies in realizing the ambitious vision of a sustainable aviation sector.

Key Insights:

The adoption and production of SAFs are significantly influenced by global and national initiatives.

  • CORSIA showcases a global resolve to manage CO2 emissions through offsetting and comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.
  • The US SAF Grand Challenge exemplifies the power of aspirational objectives and collaborative efforts between public and private entities.
  • Financial encouragements like those in the Inflation Reduction Act are instrumental in nurturing SAF progression.
  • The EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation initiative and the Emissions Trading System represent regulatory methodologies that actively promote the uptake of SAFs and strive for emission reductions in aviation.
  • To effectively navigate and strategize for upcoming regulatory shifts pertaining to SAFs, it is crucial for airlines to remain abreast of these changes and plan accordingly.