Industry Insights with Paul Zissermann, SkyTeam - Challenges in advancing SAF with policy
Paul Zissermann
Sustainability Director
SkyTeam
In this interview, Paul Zissermann, a sustainability and environmental expert who has introduced emission reduction initiatives worldwide, shares his views on how the current and potential future political landscape impacts SAF production and scaling, and the challenges with reaching net-zero.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role?
Sure! I’m originally an ecologist and botanist from Sydney, and have been working in the environmental and sustainability field for over 30 years, with 15 of those in aviation. I started out as Emirates’ first Environmental Affairs Manager back in 2009 under Andrew Parker, who’s now CSO with Qantas – he taught me a great deal about lobbying and public affairs, particularly around the time of aviation joining the EU ETS! I’ve also held leadership roles with Airservices Australia, where I dealt with airport environmental issues (specifically noise and PFAS), and at Boeing, where we provided modelling and operational analysis support to the Wisk and Cascade projects. At SkyTeam I’m responsible for delivery of our new Sustainability Strategy, which includes 12 specific initiatives (5 existing and 7 new), covering a wide range of issues such as SAF, sustainability standards, ESG reporting, gender equality, accessibility and anti-human trafficking. It’s a wonderful challenge working with 20 diverse member airlines across our alliance, but also very rewarding. Moving the family to Amsterdam from Canberra has also been a bit of an adventure!
What do you believe will be the biggest contributor to decarbonising the aviation industry in the next 20 years?
Definitely SAF! Followed closely by fleet renewal and improved operational efficiency. I also think that this cannot be achieved without the use of properly-verified, high standard carbon offsets (ideally sourced from in-country or in-industry projects).
Do you see SAF and aviation decarbonization fitting into the political agenda, either in the USA or globally?
Well, to use an American colloquialism – it has to, period. People will want to continue to fly. Airlines will want to continue to grow and be profitable, while reducing their absolute emissions. And governments must provide the policy framework to make that happen. Just as we’re seeing policy and regulations shape the net zero transition in the energy, road transport, agricultural and property sectors, so to must it play out in aviation. But it takes guts, foresight and political leadership. In the end, industry just wants certainty and the ability to forecast and monetize its operational costs – this includes emissions.
How important is public and political support in the acceleration of SAF production, does one come before the other?
Political support first, public support second. It’s up to the politicians (and industry) to convince the public why accelerated SAF production is so important, and why it is a good thing! Ultimately, it will be passengers that will bear some, if not all of the costs of SAF use.
In 2024 almost half the global population has, or will, vote, with elections held notably in the USA, Brazil, the UK, the EU, and Australia. What impact do you think changes in political leadership could have on the funding and development of SAF production?
Well, of course it could have potentially huge repercussions, particularly in countries like the USA, the EU and Australia. If an incoming Trump administration was to dismantle and roll-back the Inflation Reduction Act, then that of course would be disastrous for the fledgling SAF sector in the US. However, I’m not convinced that would be a wise political move – as the IRA does also support a lot of farmers and regional workers. We’ve also seen the first shoots of a new SAF industry start blooming in Australia under our new progressive government, after 10 years of a policy vacuum with the previous conservative administration, who were borderline climate change denialists. Likewise, that could all be reversed if a conservative government came back into power and dismantled all the good work over the last 2 years. But again, I can’t see that happening – we’ve made too much progress already, and there is very strong support from the agricultural sector, the regions, the aviation industry and the international community.
What are the current political and policy challenges in advancing SAF?
I’d say the main political and policy challenges around SAF are: 1) the costs of production, and who ultimately bears those costs; 2) the limited availability of truly sustainable feedstocks; and 3) getting the traditional oil and gas sector to ‘open their wallets’ and invest more resources into SAF production. We need to get to a point where, like lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, the cost of production per unit comes down significantly and creates a level playing field.
What do you believe needs to happen to enable the aviation industry to meet net zero by 2050?
I think we just have to stay the course, and keep working progressively and steadily on building SAF production capacity, reducing costs and increasing supply – while ‘squeezing the lemon’ in terms of fleet renewal and operational efficiency – particularly around improved airspace efficiency. This last one is an area where government can and should act right now to achieve significant, measurable emissions, fuel, flight time and cost reductions – the industry has been crying out for it for years!
Would you like hear directly from policymakers about federal and state level SAF incentives?