Aircraft Leasing Ireland announces support for the expedited development of book-and-claim at Global Aviation Sustainability Day

Aircraft Leasing Ireland announces support for the expedited development of book-and-claim at Global Aviation Sustainability Day

Aircraft Leasing Ireland (ALI), the Ibec group that represents the aircraft leasing sector in Ireland has today announced its support for the expedited development of book-and-claim accounting under voluntary reporting and compliance frameworks. This proposal, made at ALI’s third Global Aviation Sustainability Day Conference in Dublin, would enhance Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) access.

Global Aviation Sustainability Day brings together senior leaders and expert voices from across the aviation industry, including lessors, airlines, regulators, fuel producers, manufacturers, and financiers. This year’s theme is “Sustainability: is reality biting?” and features a keynote address by Magda Kopczyńska Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission.

In 2022 ALI pledged its support for the Fly Net Zero initiative, which aims for civil aviation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Additionally, ALI introduced a Sustainability Charter at its inaugural Global Aviation Sustainability Day in 2022 that sets out comprehensive environmental, social and governance principles for aircraft lessors. The Charter advocates for the advancement of new low-carbon aircraft technologies including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which according to IATA has the potential to reduce aviation's carbon dioxide emissions by up to 65% by 2050.

Currently there is limited availability of SAF across global markets due to the limited investment to date in securing feedstock and production capacity. The leasing community serves global aircraft operators and encourages SAF purchases for airlines everywhere, with or without localised production, through "book-and-claim".

The concept of "book-and-claim" enables both production economies of scale and global SAF purchases. No matter their location, a book-and-claim system will enable operators to purchase verified SAF credits without the requirement to transport SAF to their location. This chain of custody mechanism allows for the separation of the environmental credit from the physical flow of fuel, enabling lifecycle carbon emission reductions regardless of geographic limitations. 

ALI believes it is essential that the GHG Protocol, Science-Based Targets initiative, and national and regional compliance schemes integrate book-and-claim accounting for the following reasons:

• By permitting the aviation industry to purchase the SAF credits from fuel consumed elsewhere, we can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower transportation costs.
• Failing to allow book-and-claim accounting leads to higher costs, transportation-related emissions, and inequitable access to one of aviation's most significant decarbonization tools.
• Greater investment is necessary to grow SAF production. As current production is concentrated in select regions, book-and-claim supports investment by broadening the addressable market.
• Book-and-claim accounting enables corporate customers of airlines to engage in, and contribute to, decarbonization efforts.
   

To support the commercial aviation industry’s goal of net-zero by 2050, standardized and interoperable reporting methods ensuring integrity for book-and-claim are a crucial and legitimate lever for reducing the lifecycle carbon emissions of aviation. 

Karl Griffin, Chairperson of ALI remarked: “Increasing SAF availability is a global challenge that is critical to achieving a sustainable aviation industry. ALI advocates for the expedited development of book-and-claim accounting under voluntary and compliance reporting frameworks. This system would boost both supply and demand for SAF and support the commercial aviation industry’s ambition to be net-zero by 2050. 

“ALI members are committed to establishing a sustainable and viable supply chain for SAF here in Ireland and internationally, and I would like to acknowledge our industry partners at Boeing, Airbus, IATA and IMPACT who support us in communicating the importance of this issue for all aviation stakeholders”, he concluded. 

ALI’s Global Aviation Sustainability Day is being held in the Round Room at The Mansion House, Dublin. Attended by over 300 leaders from across the aviation ecosystem. The lead sponsor of this event is KPMG. Silver sponsors: AerCap, CDB Aviation, Nordic Aviation Capital, McCann Fitzgerald, Pratt & Whitney and SES.