1. Guillermo Felipe Rebollo de Garay, Legal and Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), European Commission, provided a comprehensive overview of the European Union's strategic approach to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), underscoring the aviation sector's vital role in both economic activity and climate transition. He emphasized that the EU’s SAF policy is built on stability, predictability, and clarity, essential for fostering investor confidence and long-term planning. A central focus of his keynote was the SAF blending mandate, which starts at 2% in 2025 and progressively increases to 70% by 2050, including specific targets for synthetic fuels (eSAF). He acknowledged the significant challenges facing synthetic fuel development, citing market failures due to high capital costs and a lack of long-term offtake agreements. To address this, the Commission is developing a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan aimed at de-risking early investments and incentivizing first movers. Libero de Gare concluded by reaffirming the EU’s unwavering commitment to SAF targets, framing them as crucial not only for emissions reductions but also for energy security, industrial growth, and job creation.

2. Ana Purnell-Marcus, UK Sustainability Lead, Boeing, highlighted Boeing’s strategic commitment to aviation decarbonization, positioning SAF as the most viable near-term solution to reduce emissions across all flight segments, particularly medium- and long-haul. She outlined Boeing’s five-pronged approach to sustainability: fleet renewal, operational efficiency, renewable energy, advanced technology, and carbon removals. Boeing aims to ensure that all its aircraft are compatible with 100% SAF by 2030 and has already completed several 100% SAF demonstration flights in collaboration with partners like Virgin Atlantic and Rolls-Royce. Ana stressed the importance of regional engagement, noting Boeing’s support for local SAF production through technology partnerships, feedstock mapping, and financial facilitation. She emphasized Boeing’s role as a convener—bridging gaps between aviation, policy, energy, and finance stakeholders. Additionally, she introduced Boeing’s Cascade modeling tool, designed to help industry players explore and optimize decarbonization pathways. Ana’s message was clear: while Boeing is not a fuel producer, it is committed to leading and enabling the scale-up of SAF globally.

3. For the Panel Discussion, here are the key questions:

• The regulatory SAF market is driven by legal mandates like the EU’s RefuelEU, which provides long-term certainty for investment and planning.

• The voluntary SAF market is fueled by corporate sustainability commitments and individual consumer demand, particularly from environmentally conscious travelers.

• Corporate clients are increasingly participating in voluntary SAF programs to meet Scope 3 emissions targets and demonstrate climate leadership.

• SAF adoption is hindered by high costs, limited feedstock availability, and underdeveloped supply chains, especially for next-generation fuels.

• Generation 2 SAF (e.g., HEFA) is more mature but constrained by feedstock limitations, while Generation 3 (e-fuels) offers long-term promise but is not yet cost-competitive.

• Airlines operate on tight margins, making the high cost of SAF a major barrier to large-scale adoption without significant policy support or incentives.

• A sustainable business model for SAF is still emerging, with the need for improved cost parity, de-risking mechanisms, and public-private collaboration.

• Investment and scale-up of SAF infrastructure require coordinated efforts across technology development, regulatory clarity, and innovative financing.

• Collaboration across the aviation, policy, finance, and energy sectors is essential to overcome current SAF market challenges and accelerate deployment.