Carbon emissions a threat to future events on the scale of Taylor Swift, says TTF

Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond made the startling claim to highlight the need for action on a sustainable aviation fuel sector.

Ms Osmond said its own research showed 82 per cent of Australians believed it was important to reduce carbon emissions produced by air travel.

Sustainable aviation fuel, made from agricultural waste and feedstock, was considered the most practical way to slash emissions, but as yet Australia was producing none of the biofuel.

“Australia is a long-haul destination. We will never be anything but a long-haul destination, and we don’t have transport opportunities like high-speed rail like Europe. It won’t be the case here,” Ms Osmond told the Renewable Fuels conference in Canberra on Tuesday.

“So, aviation will continue to be critical, which is why we as an industry are fixated on the need for a SAF industry here in Australia.

Ms Osmond warned that without SAF, Australia would see fewer events like the recent Taylor Swift concerts that provided an enormous windfall for hotels and airlines.

Business conferences, worth around $17bn to the economy, were even more at risk because of the carbon targets set by large companies.

“Increasingly what happens now when you go overseas to bid for one of these global conferences to come to Australia, and it’s big business, Australia has to justify our bid because we are long haul and for many businesses, they don’t want to take part in a conference that is going to do damage to their own carbon targets, nor do they want to send any delegates to a conference that is that far away,” Ms Osmond said.

“So we are already seeing really significant impacts on our attractiveness as a business events destination in the early stages of this.”

CEO of US SAF production company LanzaJet, Jimmy Samartzis told the conference sustainable aviation fuel presented an “incredible opportunity to Australia beyond simply emissions benefits”.

LanzaJet was already working with local company Jet Zero Australia to deliver a SAF production plant in Townsville by 2026, using alcohol to jet technology.

Mr Samartzis said currently just 0.6 billion litres of SAF was being produced, which needed to grow to 18 billion litres by 2030.

“The reason why we are doing this can be many. It could be because of climate and decarbonisation, it could be because of economic development, domestic energy security, national security,” said Mr Samartzis.

“There are truly different reasons why it matters to have a sense of urgency around SAF today.”

He said most SAF technology companies had failed over the last few years, but LanzaJet’s alcohol to jet process could “be the Holy Grail”.

“You talk about versatility and flexibility, ethanol as a molecule is very important because it is a building block to get you to SAF,” said Mr Samartzis.

“The question is how to get to ethanol. We think of the source of ethanol being energy crops, corn and sugar essentially, but you can also create ethanol from woody wastes and agricultural residue.”

Qantas has set a target of 10 per cent SAF in its fuel mix by 2030, and 60 per cent by 2050.

Virgin Australia was also target emissions reductions with the view to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

Newer more fuel efficient aircraft were helping, with new Boeing 737 Max 8s, A220s and A321neos already providing emissions reductions compared with older 737-800s and A320s.