“Operating our aircraft with sustainable aviation fuel is the single biggest thing we can do to directly reduce our emissions,” he said in a statement.
“The US, UK and Europe have industries that have developed with a lot of government support because this is a new field and the long-term benefits for those countries are obvious.”
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Aviation accounted for about 2 per cent of the world’s emissions before the COVID-19 pandemic and about 4 per cent of Australia’s.
The California deal is the second major contract Qantas has entered to start using SAF on international flights, after agreeing in December to buy 10 million litres at Heathrow Airport this year, accounting for about 15 per cent of its expected fuel usage on flights out of London.
Expense is the biggest inhibitor to SAF uptake, currently costing two to three times conventional jet fuel, and its use worldwide is at negligible levels. But Mr Joyce said that with the right investment, the cost could come down to parity over time.
“We’d be its biggest customer,” he said. “As well as the environmental and economic benefits, a local SAF industry would reduce the nation’s dependence on imported fuels.”
Qantas committed in 2019 to spending $50 million over 10 years helping to develop a local SAF industry, while the Morrison government committed $33.5 million last year.
Critics, however, say that federal funding will not be enough to kickstart a local industry as billions of dollars are being invested in the US and Europe to get production off the ground there.
The International Air Travel Association (IATA), the airline trade body, forecasts SAF could account for 2 per cent of the global industry’s fuel use by 2025, 17 per cent by 2035 and 65 per cent by mid-century, which is crucial to hitting its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
