This week, Amazon announced it will buy up to 6 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, to reduce the emissions of its air cargo operations by 20 percent, reported The Seattle Times. This is good news not only for the company's emissions, but also for the biofuels industry.
What is SAF, again? “SAFs can be made from a number of materials, like various plant oils and crops like poplar and switchgrass. Many of the SAFs under development are made from reusable waste products, like used cooking oil, animal fat, municipal solid waste, and corn leaves, stalks, and cobs,” says Grist.
What exactly is “sustainable” about Amazon’s fuel? As Grist explains, it’s “not necessarily that it produces fewer carbon emissions than conventional jet fuel when it’s burned in an airplane—it’s that it has a smaller carbon footprint when the entire life cycle of the fuel is taken into account. (In addition, many SAFs burn more cleanly, spewing less soot and other pollutants from a plane’s engine.)”
Why it matters: “While the purchase is a small step that won’t substantially reduce the company’s overall carbon footprint, it may help boost demand for alternative fuels, which are currently too expensive to be competitive with conventional jet fuel,” Grist continues.
This is why we continue to call for renewable fuel standards, both in the states and nationwide, to ensure this biotech-driven solution can empower cleaner fuel as well as jobs and economic growth.
Learn more about SAF.
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