The ranking of airlines was carried out by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E, in its original acronym), which brings together non-governmental organisations in the field of the environment and transport, with the aim of promoting more sustainable transport.
According to the research, of the 77 airlines worldwide, the majority, 87%, are failing to make the transition, as only 10 are adopting credible alternatives to conventional jet fuel.
The other 67 are either buying sustainable aviation fuels, but in insufficient quantities, or buying the wrong type of fuel, or are not even considering using sustainable fuels.
TAP appears on the worst ranked list, a list that between 41st and last has zero points in all the options analysed for each company.
The environmental association Zero, which is part of T&E and publishes the analysis, says that of TAP’s emission reductions, only one test flight with sustainable fuels in 2022 is known, “there are no known objectives for the use of sustainable aviation fuels or e-SAF (synthetic fuel) until 2030 or investments or agreements related to sustainable aviation fuels”.
Zero adds: “Airlines, including TAP, are not only doing very little in terms of adopting sustainable aviation fuels; many of them are doing nothing, raising serious doubts about the steps that need to be taken to mitigate their climate impact.”
According to the ranking, the three highest ranked airlines are Air France-KLM, United Airlines and Norwegian, for their use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
In the list, the airlines received points for setting targets for the incorporation of e-SAF and sustainable aviation fuels (either actual purchases or commitments made).
The T&E document released by Zero in a statement warns that not all SAFs are sustainable and that e-SAF is the best. Bio-SAF (from forest residues, oils and fats) varies in sustainability and is limited in quantity. Fuels made from food or fodder crops are not sustainable.
Zero warns that the majority of airlines in the ranking use the wrong type of SAF, with biofuels made from crops such as corn and soya accounting for 30% of agreements with suppliers (e-SAF 10%).
The document also denounces the lack of investment by fossil jet fuel producers in SAF (less than 3% of annual aviation fuel production by 2030), and, “even worse”, the plans that do exist are for bioSAF (and not e-SAF, which is a synthetic fuel produced from renewable electricity, green hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured directly from the air).
Zero says that in Portugal Galp, the main supplier, plans to start producing SAF in 2026, essentially biofuels, and adds that oil companies are reluctant to invest in SAF.
Worldwide, the adoption of sustainable fuels is very low. According to the study, for the 77 airlines evaluated the projected volumes of sustainable aviation fuels will lead to a reduction of only 0.9% in emissions in 2030.
Zero argues in the press release that airlines must set targets for the use of sustainable fuels, that oil companies must accelerate the transition and that regulators must be more proactive, and must ensure that the European Union makes investment in e-SAF a priority.
