November 10, 2025
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35 Statistics on Sustainable Aviation You Need to Know in 2026

Sustainable aviation is gaining altitude as airlines, governments, and innovators work to decarbonize one of the world’s most challenging sectors. With Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at the core of this transformation, new investments, mandates, and technologies are accelerating progress toward net-zero flight.

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These 35 statistics capture the current state of sustainable aviation — from production volumes and regulatory targets to technological breakthroughs and public sentiment driving the industry's cleaner future.

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Current SAF Usage and Production Volumes

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  1. Sustainable aviation fuel makes up only around 0.3% of the world's jet fuel usage and is projected to only account for 0.7% by 2025, according to IATA data, with experts saying the production rate of the green fuel needs to grow quickly for the sector to achieve its emissions goals. (Reuters, 2024)
  2. As of 2024, SAF production in Europe represented only 0.53% of the region's total jet fuel use, indicating a significant need for capacity expansion to meet future mandates. (EASA, 2024)
  3. It is projected that there will be 2.1 million tonnes of SAF produced in 2025. (International Air Transport Association, 2024)
  4. Approximately 5 million gallons of SAF were consumed in 2021, 15.84 million gallons in 2022, and 24.5 million gallons in 2023. (U.S. Department of Energy, 2023)

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Mandates and Regulatory Targets

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  1. The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate started in 2025, 2% of total UK jet fuel demand must come from SAF, increasing linearly to 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040. From 2040 onward, the 22% requirement will be maintained until further certainty on SAF supply is achieved. (Department for Transport, 2024)
  2. In 2024 Brazil adopted the Fuel of the Future law, which requires fuel operators to reduce GHG emissions from domestic flights by 1% in 2027, increasing to 10% in 2037, through use of SAFs. (GOV.BR, 2025)
  3. The ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation has set a minimum supply mandate for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in Europe, starting with 2% in 2025 and increasing to 70% in 2050. (EASA, 2024)
  4. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has set a target for SAF to constitute at least 5% of aviation fuel by 2030. (International Air Transport Association, 2025)
  5. The 41st International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly adopted a long-term aspirational goal of net zero carbon emissions from international aviation by 2050. (ICAO, 2022)
  6. The ICAO CORSIA is an offsetting scheme with an objective of carbon neutral growth designed to ensure that CO2 emissions from international aviation do not exceed 2019 levels in 2021-2023 and 85% of 2019 levels in 2024-2035. (EASA, 2024)

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Production Capacity and Investments

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  1. Airbus and Qantas have jointly invested AUD$15 million into Climate Tech Partners, a venture capital fund focused on advancing SAF start-ups. The investment will be made from Qantas and Airbus’ US$200 million partnership which was established in 2022 to help accelerate SAF production. (Qantas News Room, 2025)
  2. Chinese biofuel companies are investing over $1 billion to convert waste cooking oil into SAF. (Reuters, 2024)
  3. Jet2 has announced an investment in the sustainable aviation fuel plant to be built in northwest England by waste-to-fuel producer Fulcrum BioEnergy, which is expected to start production in 2027. Once the plant reaches full capacity, Fulcrum plans to produce about 100 million litres of SAF annually by converting 600,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste, which otherwise would have to be incinerated or used as a landfill. (GreenAir News, 2023)
  4. As of early 2024, the U.S. had only two SAF production facilities: World Energy's plant in Paramount, California, and Montana Renewables' plant in Great Falls, Montana, with a combined capacity of approximately 2,000 barrels per day. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024) 
  5. The US launched the SAF Grand Challenge in 2021 which aims to scale domestic production, establishing a production target of three billion gallons by 2030 and 35 billion gallons by 2050 while achieving at least a 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.. (U.S. Department of Energy, 2021)
  6. Heathrow has announced an increase in its pioneering carbon cutting scheme for a fourth year. In 2025, £86m will be available to airlines through the airport’s SAF incentive scheme, targeting 3% of aviation fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF - amounting to 187,000 tonnes. (Heathrow Media Centre, 2025)

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Market Growth and Economics

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  1. The sustainable aviation fuel market is projected to grow significantly, with estimates suggesting an increase from $3.25 billion in 2024 to $56.8 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.9%. (DataHorizzon Research, 2025)
  2. SAF is currently about 3-10 times more expensive than conventional jet fuel, although they are expected to reduce substantially as production technologies scale up. (EASA, 2024)

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Net-Zero and Emissions Goals

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  1. The International Air Transport Association estimates that Sustainable Aviation Fuel can deliver approximately 65% of the emission reduction required to get to net zero. (Neste, 2025)
  2. DHL Group aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emission logistics by 2050. Interim targets by 2030 include electrifying two-thirds of last-mile delivery vehicles and increasing the share of more sustainable fuels across transportation modes to more than 30%, including SAF. (Neste, 2025)
  3. Sustainable Aviation is a coalition of UK airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, fuel producers and partners all committed to delivering carbon net zero aviation by 2050, and to minimising the impact of aviation noise. (Sustainable Aviation, 2025)
  4. In 2020 the UK became the first national aviation sector in the world to commit to reaching net zero by 2050. (Sustainable Aviation, 2024)
  5. To reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, IATA analysis shows that between 3,000 to over 6,500 new renewable fuel plants will be needed. (International Air Transport Association, 2024)

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Environmental Impact of SAF

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  1. Compared with conventional jet fuel, 100% SAF has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94% depending on feedstock and technology pathway. (U.S. Department of Energy, 2023)
  2. While SAF is very similar to conventional kerosene, it delivers substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) than Jet A-1– typically around 80%. (KPMG, 2024)
  3. The SAF Mandate could deliver up to 6.3 megatonnes of carbon savings per year by 2040. (Department for Transport, 2024)
  4. The UK Airspace Modernisation Strategy has been developed involving the simultaneous deployment of a systemised route network from 7,000 feet to 24,500 feet, as well as Free Route Airspace (FRA) above 24,500 feet. The FRA deployment over the west of England is expected to deliver annual savings of over 12,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in UK airspace. (Sustainable Aviation, 2024)

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Public Perception

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  1. A recent IATA survey revealed significant public support for SAF. Some 86% of travelers agreed that governments should provide production incentives for airlines to be able to access SAF. In addition, 86% agreed that it should be a priority for oil companies to supply SAF to airlines. (International Air Transport Association, 2024)

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Technological Developments

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  1. New aircrafts can be up to 20% more efficient than the models they replace. (IEA, 2025)
  2. In November 2023, Virgin Atlantic flew the first transatlantic flight on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. (Sustainable Aviation, 2024)
  3. In April 2023, the Royal Air Force successfully completed a Voyager air-to-air refuelling flight, powered by an approximately 43% blend of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. (Royal Air Force, 2023)
  4. ZeroAvia successfully completed its initial Dornier 228 Flight Test Campaign, having flown its hydrogen-powered Dornier 228 testbed airplane 10 times in 2023, and is now preparing for its first cross-country flights. ZeroAvia retrofitted the 19-seat twin turboprop with a prototype of its 600-kilowatt ZA600 powertrain, which uses hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity. (ZeroAvia, 2023)
  5. Airbus announced plans for next-generation single-aisle aircraft with a projected fuel efficiency improvement of up to 30%, capable of using 100% SAF. (AIRBUS, 2025)

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Aviation Emissions Context

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  1. In 2023, aviation accounted for 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, having grown faster between 2000 and 2019 than rail, road or shipping. (IEA, 2025)
  2. As international travel demand recovered following the Covid-19 pandemic, aviation emissions in 2023 reached almost 950 Mt CO2, more than 90% of pre-Covid-19 levels. (IEA, 2025).

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Aviation’s transition to sustainability is underway - but its pace must accelerate dramatically to align with global climate goals. Sustainable Aviation Fuel remains the industry’s most powerful lever for decarbonisation, though scaling it demands vast investment, infrastructure, and policy coordination.

With growing public support, government mandates, and rapid innovation across SAF, hydrogen, and aircraft design, aviation’s flightpath to net zero is becoming clearer. The challenge now lies in execution - turning ambitious pledges into measurable, sustained climate progress.

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