Keyamo: No country should be left behind in transition to sustainable aviation fuel

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, says the transition to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should be a global movement. 

SAF is a biofuel that has similar properties to conventional jet fuel used to power aircraft, but has lesser carbon emissions.

Keyamo spoke at the ongoing third International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference on aviation and alternative fuels (CAAF/3), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The minister said it is impracticable for developed nations to transition to SAF without carrying developing countries along.

He argued that their aircrafts would use developing country routes and would need to refuel.

He said a global finance structure is necessary for the development of the SAF, noting that a transition that is not global would undermine the efforts of developed countries.

“My final thoughts on this issue is that in line with what we’ve all adopted, that no nation or region should be left behind, is just to further emphasise the global nature of aviation”  Keyamo said.

“It is even impractical to leave any nation behind. It’s impractical because it’s impossible for a part of the world to still be using fossil fuels and another part of the world to have totally transited to SAF.

“How will the planes fly from one place to another, how are you going to refuel when you come to my country, how will you refuel?

“Will you bring your SAF to my country to refuel, how? So it has to be a global movement, together by all countries in terms of production, in terms of development, in terms of deployment.

“And that is why I agree with my brother here that there has to be some kind of global financing structure in terms of the development.

“Any stage that any country reaches, the developed countries, they have to carry the other developing nations and regions along, because it is going to undermine the efforts of the developed nation if you have totally transited to SAF when you have left other countries behind to depend on fossil fuels.

“So it is impractical, that is the point I want to make here. It’s impractical to leave any country behind. We are in this together, we need to carry ourselves along to gether.”