All Australian airlines should be forced to cut pollution from air travel, says Qantas which has called on the federal government to mandate sustainable aviation fuel.
The call to green our skies came as the national carrier revealed it had created a $400 million "climate fund" to invest in biofuel projects with Airbus, and for further research in the field.
The announcement, made during the airline's investment event on Tuesday, also follows the Queensland government declaring it would work with Qantas to create an eco-friendly fuel refinery in the state.
Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is considered a major pathway to cutting emissions within the aviation industry, which has pledged to reach net zero by 2050.
The fuel is created using agricultural and forestry waste products such as cooking oil, corn grain, wood mill waste and algae, and can be used in existing aircraft.
Qantas Group chief sustainability officer Andrew Parker said the company had made significant investments in the green fuel but all Australian airlines should use it to ensure the country would reach its climate targets.
"Creating markets for new fuels is a critical part of tackling climate change, which is why we're today calling for a SAF mandate to be introduced to catalyse the development of the industry," he said.
“Several of the countries we fly to have already committed to blending mandates of five to 10 per cent by 2030 and others are well on the path to introducing one.
"Australia has significant advantages for SAF production and there’s a great opportunity to create a new domestic industry."
Norway, Sweden and France currently have SAF-blending mandates in place, and a similar move is proposed for the European Union in 2025.
Qantas will use $290m from its $400m climate fund to invest in domestic fuel production with Airbus, including the biofuel refinery project in Queensland, while the remaining $110m goes towards other projects and research in the field.
Mr Parker said the airline had already purchased 10 million litres of SAF for flights out of London this year and would purchase 20 million litres for Californian flights in 2025.
"We have already made progress towards our interim climate targets with sustainable aviation fuel powering our flights out of London, more fuel-efficient aircraft arriving every month and a mature carbon offset program," he said.
“We need to turbocharge these efforts if we are to cut our carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 and have net-zero emissions by 2050."
Sustainable aviation fuel has emerged as the leading method of cutting emissions in the industry, with CSIRO Futures senior manager Max Temminghoff calling it "a critical tool for decarbonisation".
The International Air Transport Association estimates the fuel will be responsible for 65 per cent of carbon emission cuts in the industry by 2050, with 13 per cent coming from new technology, hydrogen and electric planes.
