Cathay urges holistic plan for sustainable fuel use

Themis Qi

Cathay expects the Hong Kong government to offer a "holistic plan" to facilitate the usage of sustainable jet fuels in the city.

The group, which operates Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways (0293), is striving to boost the consumption proportion of sustainability aviation fuels from the near-term 0.03 percent to 10 percent in less than six years - the mid-term goal for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Cathay general manager of sustainability Grace Cheung Sing-yan said the aviation industry really needs a holistic plan - which goes beyond subsidies and involves solutions for logistics, supply chains and more - to reach its climate goal.

Hong Kong is conducting a consultancy study on such fuels and projects to complete it in this quarter. The government will make action plans based on the study.

Sustainable jet fuels, usually made from renewable sources such as used cooking oil and wood, have the potential to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 80 percent as compared to fossil fuels.

But they are three to five times more expensive than fossil aviation fuels and are in short supply - taking up only 0.2 percent of global fuels last year. Partly due to these challenges, Air New Zealand decided to ditch its 2030 carbon reduction target last month.

Cheung also admitted that the development of sustainable fuels is still in the early stage.

But she believed the proportion will surge to 10 percent in the last few years towards 2030 with Cathay's measures to secure and promote sustainable fuels and collaboration among stakeholders.