Latest news with #CarbonOffsettingandReductionSchemeforInternationalAviation
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Used cooking oil to power jet engines, so fry hard
After jatropha and ethanol, your kitchen's used cooking oil is the new India's blender's pride. After ethanol-blended petrol for your car, India is on a quest to alchemise your kitchen kadhai's greasy gunk into jet fuel. Because nothing says "sustainable" like your pakoda oil getting a second life as rocket juice for a 747. Fly high, samosa style!Indian Oil's Panipat refinery has been crowned the country's first to pump out sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil, The Times of India reported. The word "sustainable" makes eco-warriors faint with joy, and SAF is just one "E" shy of SAFE. Maybe we should toss in Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's beloved ethanol and call it SAFE: Sustainable, Awesome, Fry-powered from Swiss certification firm Cotecna's Indian arm have certified the Panipat refinery, declaring it fit to turn your post-pakoda sludge into jet fuel. They have also saddled us with CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), a UN dream to make planes fly without guilt. By 2027, India has been roped into blending 1% SAF for international flights, inching to 2% by 2028. Domestic flights will follow. Late arrivals are not NO STRANGER TO SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUELSAF is no stranger to our headlines, even if it makes little headway. Back in August 2018, SpiceJet flew a Bombardier from Dehradun to Delhi on a 75:25 mix of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and jatropha-based biofuel, cooked by the Indian Institute of 2022, IndiGo flew with a 10% SAF blend on a ferry flight from Toulouse to Delhi. These trips are made to make headlines, followed by the kind of silence you hear after a flop Bollywood that weed we have idolised since childhood for its firepower, was once India's biofuel heartthrob. In the 2000s, we planted it like crazy, believing it would free us from oil imports. It did not. Yields on marginal lands were as pathetic as Raid 2, and it gobbled farmland, jacking up food prices. Now, it's a sidekick, not Shah Rukh Khan of has had it better because it found a guardian in Nitin Gadkari. India hit 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025, five years early, saving Rs 1.36 lakh crore in foreign exchange and pumping production from 38 crore litres in 2014 to 661.1 crore your scooter is whining about mileage, and your car's fuel injectors are throwing tantrums, you clearly are from the petrol lobby. Tough luck, aam aadmi, tweet your tears, but ethanol is here to stay. Buy an E-20-compliant car and see the blending go up to E-27 as government is now eyeing ethanol for SAF via the alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) pathway, aiming for 30 billion litres annually from crop waste and municipal trash. It is pricier than ATF, like Chayos chai versus roadside cutting, but who, if not you, will sustain the sugar industry by buying its byproduct?REAL PAKODA OF COOKING OIL PUZZLEadvertisementNow, the real pakoda of a puzzle: collecting used cooking oil. Where will the Panipat refinery source the crude oil to refine, in this case, used mustard oil. By door-to-door collection, like trash collected every morning? Will we have 3 coloured bins now: green, blue and yellow for the oil? Or grovelling to pakoda-walas to donate their black, tar-like treasure, reused till it's basically liquid regret? The answer, my friend, is frying in the kadhai!India could churn out 19-24 million tonnes of SAF yearly, but a 5% blending target needs 140 million litres of oil. That's a Himalayan pile of pakodas to fry. Supply chains are shakier than a cycle rickshaw on a Gurugram flyover. Villagers in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka scrounge jungles for jatropha seeds, which then hitch-hike hundreds of miles to where you, proud Bharatiya naagrik, become the hero India didn't ask for. Set up a pakoda stall, and you are not just self-employed, you are a cog in the crude oil supply chain to Panipat. Fry hard, dream big! India's gunning for 8-10 million tonnes of SAF by 2040, needing Rs 6-7 lakh crore in investments to cut oil imports by $5-7 billion annually. Over 1.2 million jobs could sprout, if we ever sort out this logistical fuel your imagination, not disappointments. Turning your kitchen oil into jet fuel is like betting on a bullock cart to win Formula 1. If we can somehow wrangle the oily drippings from a billion samosa-holding hands, maybe, just maybe, that cart will zoom past the chequered flag. Until then, keep frying pakodas and save the planet.(Kamlesh Singh, a columnist and satirist, is Tau of the popular Teen Taal podcast)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)
Euractiv
04-08-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
EU could earn €1 trillion by fully taxing aviation, private jets included
The EU could boost its carbon pricing revenues from aviation by up to tenfold if it eliminates key exemptions and fully applies its emissions rules to the sector, according to a new study by Carbon Market Watch. The green watchdog says the planned 2026 revision of the EU's CO₂ pricing system is an 'excellent opportunity' to both cut aviation emissions and generate significant funding for climate policies. Despite the sector's substantial climate impact, intercontinental flights to and from Europe remain largely exempt from the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) – the bloc's main tool for pricing carbon pollution from heavy-emitting sectors. Currently, only intra-European flights are fully covered, and even then, half of their emissions are exempt until 2026. Airlines are also required to monitor their non-CO₂ emissions – including water vapour, nitrogen oxides, and sulphur dioxide – but these warming effects remain excluded from carbon pricing. Billions in missed revenue According to Carbon Market Watch, extending CO₂ pricing to all intercontinental commercial flights from and to Europe could increase projected revenues between 2025 and 2040 from €112 billion to €417 billion. That figure would be limited to €196 billion if the rules applied only to EU routes and flights connecting Europe with countries that do not participate in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) – a controversial and less stringent international carbon offsetting system still under development. But if the EU ETS were expanded to include private aviation and the pricing of non-CO₂ climate effects, total revenues could reach a staggering €1.1 trillion, the study adds. Ending exemptions and prioritising e-kerosene Carbon Market Watch is urging EU policymakers to extend carbon emission pricing to all departing flights from the European Economic Area (EEA) – which includes the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – and end exemptions for private jets. The group also calls for restricting the use of the 20 million free emission permits granted to the sector to cover the cost premium of cleaner fuels. The permits should fund only e-kerosene, a synthetic and carbon-neutral fuel when made from green hydrogen and captured CO₂ , and not biofuels, which have questionable sustainability benefits, says Carbon Market Watch. Currently, e-kerosene remains scarce and expensive, and accounts for just a fraction of the EU's targets for clean jet fuel blends. (de, cs)
Business Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
DHL Express and Neste sign deal for 7,400 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel
[SINGAPORE] Finnish oil and fuel producer Neste will provide 7,400 tonnes, or around 9.5 million litres, of sustainable aviation fuel to parcel-delivery giant DHL Express in Singapore. By volume, the contract is one of the largest of its kind for the air cargo sector in Asia, and will last from July 2025 to June 2026. DHL Express did not comment on the cost of the deal. Neste will supply the fuel from its refinery in Singapore to five Boeing 777 freighters that operate from DHL Express' South Asia Hub at Changi Airport. The fuel provided will account for around 35 to 40 per cent of the total used by the fleet. The use of sustainable aviation fuel is expected to reduce carbon emissions from the fleet by around 24,000 tonnes over the duration of the contract. Reliance on this type of fuel is expected to increase in the region in the coming years as countries introduce usage targets for sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions in their aviation sectors. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up For example, Singapore aims for a 1 per cent target beginning in 2026, raising it to 3 to 5 per cent by 2030. Both India and South Korea aim for departing international flights to use 1 per cent of sustainable aviation fuel from 2027. Additionally, the International Civil Aviation Organization's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which will require airlines to offset their carbon emissions from flights, comes into force in 2027. In January, DHL Express signed its first sustainable aviation fuel deal in Asia with Cosmo Oil Marketing for the supply of 7.2 million litres of the fuel to its air freighters in Japan, beginning in April. In May, Singapore Airlines Group signed a deal with Neste for 1,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel.
Business Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Singapore mulls introducing carbon offsetting legislation for airlines
[BANGKOK] Singapore is looking to draft a carbon offsetting legislation for the aviation sector, and is studying whether to introduce penalties for airlines if they fail to comply with its requirements. While still in the works, the new legislation is likely to take reference from an existing one that mandates airlines to report their carbon emissions, said Ng Shao Hua, senior manager of global partnerships at Singapore's National Climate Change Secretariat on Wednesday (Jul 9). That carbon reporting legislation, which came into effect in 2023, has provisions to fine airline operators for failing to make these disclosures. Ng, who was speaking at the Asia Climate Summit organised by the International Emissions Trading Association, said: 'If you were to look at how we have framed our legislation on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) – where there are penalties, I think we are most likely to take reference from that.' He added that no timeline has been set for the Bill to be introduced and debated in Parliament. Ng was responding to a question during a panel discussion, on whether the Singapore authorities are looking to penalise airlines for not complying with carbon offsetting requirements in the future legislation. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up The carbon reporting legislation was developed in line with an international programme to cut emissions from the aviation sector, known as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia), which has required participating airlines to report their annual emissions since 2019. Besides disclosing their emissions, airlines which have signed up to Corsia are also obligated to purchase carbon offsets if their emissions go above 85 per cent of their 2019 levels. The International Civil Aviation Organization had developed the scheme in 2016 to stabilise the sector's net emissions. Under the scheme's initial phases, airlines have until 2026 to purchase carbon offsets voluntarily. From 2027, however, it would become mandatory to do so. Singapore is looking to start work on this carbon offsetting legislation, given that airlines would soon have to start buying carbon offsets to meet Corsia requirements. This is because – even though carbon offsetting obligations began in 2021 – many airlines have not crossed the 85 per cent threshold in the last few years with the imposition of international travel curbs during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are, however, expected to cross this limit with their 2024 emission levels, said Ng. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, have already introduced penalty frameworks for airlines in their legislations. Ng had said that Singapore had decided to take a step-wise approach on legislations, starting first with MRV, and then moving on to carbon offsets. MRV requirements are low-cost and not difficult for airlines to meet, even voluntarily. However, Ng noted that getting airlines to buy carbon offsets might not be as easily accomplished without legislation in place. 'We do need that demand certainty and that will come from legislation. Because if countries are ready to put their foot forward to say: 'I will legislate this. I will be prepared to fine the airlines if they're not ready to comply, even though it's a voluntary scheme until 2026' – if there's a clear direction from governments, then I think that will be the game changer,' said Ng. 'So I think what is needed is how can we push more countries to come on board,' he added.
Singapore Law Watch
11-07-2025
- Business
- Singapore Law Watch
Singapore mulls introducing carbon offsetting legislation for airlines
Singapore mulls introducing carbon offsetting legislation for airlines Source: Business Times Article Date: 11 Jul 2025 Author: Janice Lim No time frame has been set yet for the draft law, but it will take a leaf from an existing legislation that mandates carbon emissions reporting. Singapore is looking to draft a carbon offsetting legislation for the aviation sector, and is studying whether to introduce penalties for airlines if they fail to comply with its requirements. While still in the works, the new legislation is likely to take reference from an existing one that mandates airlines to report their carbon emissions, said Ng Shao Hua, senior manager of global partnerships at Singapore's National Climate Change Secretariat on Wednesday (Jul 9). That carbon reporting legislation, which came into effect in 2023, has provisions to fine airline operators for failing to make these disclosures. Ng, who was speaking at the Asia Climate Summit organised by the International Emissions Trading Association, said: 'If you were to look at how we have framed our legislation on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) – where there are penalties, I think we are most likely to take reference from that.' He added that no timeline has been set for the Bill to be introduced and debated in Parliament. Ng was responding to a question during a panel discussion, on whether the Singapore authorities are looking to penalise airlines for not complying with carbon offsetting requirements in the future legislation. The carbon reporting legislation was developed in line with an international programme to cut emissions from the aviation sector, known as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia), which has required participating airlines to report their annual emissions since 2019. Besides disclosing their emissions, airlines which have signed up to Corsia are also obligated to purchase carbon offsets if their emissions go above 85 per cent of their 2019 levels. The International Civil Aviation Organization had developed the scheme in 2016 to stabilise the sector's net emissions. Under the scheme's initial phases, airlines have until 2026 to purchase carbon offsets voluntarily. From 2027, however, it would become mandatory to do so. Singapore is looking to start work on this carbon offsetting legislation, given that airlines would soon have to start buying carbon offsets to meet Corsia requirements. This is because – even though carbon offsetting obligations began in 2021 – many airlines have not crossed the 85 per cent threshold in the last few years with the imposition of international travel curbs during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are, however, expected to cross this limit with their 2024 emission levels, said Ng. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, have already introduced penalty frameworks for airlines in their legislations. Ng had said that Singapore had decided to take a step-wise approach on legislations, starting first with MRV, and then moving on to carbon offsets. MRV requirements are low-cost and not difficult for airlines to meet, even voluntarily. However, Ng noted that getting airlines to buy carbon offsets might not be as easily accomplished without legislation in place. 'We do need that demand certainty and that will come from legislation. Because if countries are ready to put their foot forward to say: 'I will legislate this. I will be prepared to fine the airlines if they're not ready to comply, even though it's a voluntary scheme until 2026' – if there's a clear direction from governments, then I think that will be the game changer,' said Ng. 'So I think what is needed is how can we push more countries to come on board,' he added. Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
