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Wednesday, 23 October, 2019

New 2020 Summit Aimed at Growing Business Aviation Use of Sustainable Fuels

During the BACE convention in Las Vegas, the aviation business industry’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Coalition announced the creation of a summit, to be held in March of next year in Washington, DC, aimed at accelerating the availability and use of SAF. NATA COO and SAF Coalition Steering Committee Chairman Tim Obitts stated, “NATA is constantly hearing from our members about their desire for the use of SAF. The aviation business community is at the forefront in taking proactive measures towards building a sustainable future. This summit is a continuation of the SAF Coalition’s aim to educate the industry and wider public about the quality and safety of SAF, as we seek its widespread adoption.”

The new summit builds upon previous industry initiatives aimed at promoting SAF use, including the first-ever public demonstration – in January 2019, at California’s Van Nuys Airport – which highlighted the fuels’ viability, safety and benefit toward aviation-emissions reduction. That demonstration day was followed by a similar event, held in May 2019, at TAG London Farnborough Airport.

Each of the SAF Coalition’s member associations were in attendance for the announcement including: the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), NATA, and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

“Business aviation has long made sustainability a priority, and we have made tangible progress,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Over the past decade, we have redoubled our commitment to reducing the industry’s already-small carbon footprint, and key to that has been the development and use of sustainable fuels. This summit marks the next step in focusing on how to accelerate the fuels’ adoption and use.”

GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce explained, “We have an opportunity to bring all stakeholders together to identify ways to increase the use of SAF. The summit will continue to educate our industry on this safe, drop-in fuel and communicate the existing enthusiasm in the business aviation community for environmental stewardship through use of sustainable fuel.”

“SAF is the main solution to our environmental challenges – along with other means of emissions reduction, use of the fuels will be key to meeting our industry’s environmental goals,” said EBAA Chair Juergen Wiese. “This summit will provide another important opportunity to demonstrate that business aviation continues to take seriously its responsibility for reducing climate-changing emissions.”

“Business aviation will meet its global, long-term carbon emissions reduction goal through a multi-pronged approach involving technology, operational improvements, ATM modernization, and a global market-based measure,” said IBAC Director General Kurt Edwards. “Sustainable aviation fuel is going to be among the most critical technologies to help us meet the goal. The technology is proven – now is the time for governments and industry to increase significantly efforts to encourage production and use of SAF. The summit and our recent demonstration events are concrete demonstrations of industry’s interest in using SAF. We continue to urge governments at all levels to implement positive incentive policies to facilitate greater production of sustainable aviation fuels.”

In conjunction with the summit announcement, the SAF Coalition released a new, online capability for people in the industry to pledge their support for the fuels. The pledge is available at www.futureofsustainablefuel.com, an industry website sponsored by the SAF Coalition. The pledge reads, in part: “I support SAF, and I urge leaders in government and across the industry supply chain to do so as well. The increased availability of these fuels will dramatically strengthen the goal of business aviation to reach its long-term carbon-reduction goals.” Please sign on to the pledge to show your support of the industry’s sustainability goals.

For general press inquiries, contact Shannon Chambers at 703-298-1347 or schambers@nata.aero

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has been the voice of aviation business for more than 80 years. Representing nearly 3,700 aviation businesses, NATA’s member companies provide a broad range of services to general aviation, the airlines and the military and NATA serves as the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies.