by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:38 AM ET, Mon July 25, 2022
American Airlines finalized a new agreement with Gevo, Inc., a biofuel company, to purchase 500 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) across five years beginning in 2026.
The agreement is the largest made by the airline for SAF. Its commitments total to over 620 million gallons, which is about 20 percent of the airline's projected goal of replacing 10 percent of its jet fuel used each year with SAF by 2030. The fuel will begin being used in 2026.
In 2021, American Airlines was one of only two airlines in the world to receive the highest score possible from CDP Climate Change. Its other sustainability goals include achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and being recognized by the Science Based Targets initiative for its 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
"Today's announcement is a historic step forward for American and our industry as we work to reduce our carbon footprint," said Jill Blickstein, Vice President of Sustainability at American Airlines. "The use of SAF is a cornerstone of our strategy to decarbonize air travel. While this landmark investment represents meaningful action by American Airlines, driving progress at the scale and pace we need requires critical policy action in Washington and at the State level. Alongside our oneworld partners, we're proud to lead the way in the shift to SAF and make progress toward our shared climate goals."
The agreement follows the oneworld alliance's target to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 in September 2020; it was the first global airline alliance to do so. The alliance also has a goal to achieve 10 percent SAF use across the airlines by 2030.
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