The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, has launched the sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF registry.
The registry is a new tool to enable a global SAF market by tracking transactions and environmental benefits and connecting buyers and sellers.
SAF is a key tool for decarbonizing the aviation industry, potentially reducing lifecycle GHG emissions by up to 85% compared to conventional fuels.
Developed in collaboration with airlines, government authorities, OEMs, fuel producers, suppliers, and corporate travel management companies, the new registry addresses limited SAF supply by connecting airlines with producers and suppliers globally and providing corporate customers with in-sector emissions reductions. It aims to standardize and transparently record SAF transactions.
The platform will monitor SAF’s environmental attributes throughout its value chain to comply with regulatory obligations and corporate climate goals, preventing double counting.
The IATA has announced that the registry is technology and feedstock neutral, enabling diverse SAF production streams, with 30 early users undergoing onboarding.
The SAF registry, now live under the Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization (CADO) management, will enable a global market for SAF that will accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Further progress requires active policy support for the ramping-up of all renewable energy production and for SAF within that production. Governments must reallocate their direct support given to fossil fuel producers in favor of renewable energy production. The precedent of the wind and solar energy markets is the example to follow, and this without any further delay,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, senior vice president of sustainability and chief economist of IATA.
She said that CADO will turbocharge the imminent launch of the IATA-developed SAF Registry. Its mandate is to manage the SAF Registry as a separate entity from IATA with an open and global approach that supports the scrutiny needed to build trust among all stakeholders.
“The SAF Registry is a critical piece of market infrastructure that is indispensable in building a global, transparent, and liquid global market for SAF. The industry’s commitment to building the registry and establishing CADO to manage it should inspire governments, fossil fuel producers, and investors to engage in the SAF market with commensurate vigor. Ramping up SAF production is the common goal, and the structure we are putting in place with CADO is an important step in moving decarbonization forward,” said Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA.
IATA said that participation in the SAF Registry will be free until April 2027, after which it will be operated on a cost recovery basis.
