Australia needs a SAF refinery 'now'

Impact Publications

Airbus Australia's Stephen Forshaw has warned an aviation conference that the Australian federal government's plans for a 'green future made in Australia' will look "more like a future made in Singapore" unless major policy changes are made in the next year.

The CAPA Airline Leader Summit was held in Brisbane and attracted more than 450 delegates.
Cutting air travel emissions was a major theme.

Forshaw told attendees Australia had a host of advantages for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but as yet, the country didn't have a refinery.

"We have the feedstock to be a SAF superpower but if we don't make decisions in the next 12 months and get those decisions flowing into the investments required to build production facilities, a future made in Australia policy will actually look more like a future made in Singapore," Forshaw said.

"Australia needs to step up and play a leadership role. We are way too slow, we need to get moving far faster," he said.

Qantas climate change executive manager Fiona Messent added that her airline was committed to cutting its carbon emissions by 25 per cent in 2030, but added that to date, the airline had been forced to obtain sustainable fuel from the UK.