Sir, – Eoin Burke-Kennedy has misunderstood IATA's proposals on Sustainable Aviation Fuels ("Climate villains", Business, November 7th)
It is absurd to infer that we oppose plans to promote the increase in SAF use. The airline industry is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and this cannot be achieved without sufficient quantities of SAF – but badly thought-through policies will hamper this objective.
There are details in the Refuel EU initiative which are not only environmentally ineffective, but would disadvantage airlines like Aer Lingus. A mandate for intra-EU SAF use only would minimise competitive distortion pending a proper global agreement on worldwide SAF use. At present the whole argument is moot because governments have failed to incentivise proper growth in SAF production. A mandate is useless if the SAF doesn’t exist in the first place.
The reason EU emissions targets do not apply to flights outside of the EU is because those flights are subject to the Carbon Emissions and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation which ensures that international air travel growth beyond a 2019 baseline is carbon-neutral. – Yours, etc,
SIMON McNAMARA,
International Air
Transport Association.