The financial pressure on airlines to move away from oil is growing, as the Iran war pushes jet fuel to its highest price in years. Experts tell Stuti Mishra there are cleaner alternatives – if the right investment can be found
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independent.co.uk
The Iran war has made jet fuel twice as expensive. Should we be using cooking oil instead? | The Independent
Abatify Summary
Nature & Climate Perspective
**The transition to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) derived from waste oils offers a significant reduction in life-cycle carbon intensity but requires strict oversight to prevent ecosystem degradation from feedstock displacement. **
- Utilization of waste-based feedstocks like used cooking oil (UCO) avoids direct LULUCF impacts, provided that supply chains do not inadvertently incentivize illegal deforestation for palm oil backfilling.
- SAF adoption prevents the injection of new fossil carbon into the sensitive upper atmosphere, contributing to atmospheric stability more effectively than land-based offsets alone.
- Scaling bio-based aviation fuels necessitates a rigorous assessment of water and land-use footprints to ensure that 'green' fuel production does not compromise regional biodiversity or food security.
Market & Policy Outlook
**Geopolitical volatility is rapidly closing the price gap between fossil kerosene and SAF, driving corporate urgency toward SBTi-aligned decarbonization and Scope 3 emissions management. **
- The ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) demand high integrity for any carbon credits generated from SAF projects, specifically targeting additionality and the prevention of double-counting between corporate claims and host country NDCs.
- Market liquidity for aviation-related environmental assets is shifting from traditional nature-based offsets toward 'in-sector' technical solutions that meet strict Article 6.4 criteria for permanent abatement.
- As jet fuel prices remain volatile, financial institutions are increasingly linking airline capital costs to their ability to secure long-term SAF offtake agreements that comply with emerging EU RefuelEU and global CORSIA standards.
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