Aviation Industry Announces “Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accountability”

The aviation industry announced that to build on its already impressive scope of activities for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, they are establishing the Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accountability (CoSAFA), which is intended to accelerate the industry’s movement toward further decarbonising aviation and increasing the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

The global aviation industry currently accounts for around 2 percent of man-made CO2 emissions. The aviation industry is committed to limit and reduce these emissions through the deployment of advanced technology, operational measures, infrastructure improvements and SAF. CoSAFA represents a unified vision across the aviation industry for advancing consistent, accurate accounting practices documenting the production and use of SAF in such multi-party transactions – a crucial tool for further reducing the industry’s carbon footprint.

CoSAFA’s efforts will be led by a broad aviation industry Board of Directors, including representatives from Airlines for America (A4A), European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), National Air Transportation Association (NATA), and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

CoSAFA’s mission is to work through an orderly, global approach toward providing the necessary transparency for multi-party SAF transactions. CoSAFA standards will ensure transactional transparency, preventing double-counting of emissions savings and other potential accounting questions that could undermine market confidence and investments in the environmental benefits of SAF production and use.

Recognising that many in the aviation sector are eager to incorporate SAF into their operations, the organising bodies of CoSAFA identified the need for a system to efficiently match SAF supplies with demand, track chain of custody and use with transparency, and ensure consistency with environmental and sustainability criteria. The standards of practice established by CoSAFA will be publicly available for voluntary use by any party within the aviation sector, including entities that supply fuel and related services to the aviation sector.