In a major step towards its ambitious climate goals, Air Canada has announced an agreement to purchase 77.6 million liters (20.5 million U.S. gallons) of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ from Neste. This purchase represents a significant commitment to reducing the airline’s environmental impact and emphasizes the importance of sustainable aviation fuel in the industry’s transition to a greener future.
“Air Canada is actively pursuing efforts to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions, and SAF is a critical component of our multifaceted approach to reducing our impact on the environment and promoting environmental sustainability in our operations,” stated Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer at Air Canada. “This SAF purchase from Neste contributes significantly to our target of procuring SAF for one per cent of our estimated jet fuel use in 2025.”
While acknowledging the current reliance on imported SAF, Air Canada emphasizes the need for a robust domestic SAF production industry in Canada to achieve its long-term goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The airline calls upon federal and provincial governments to play a vital role in supporting the development of a competitive SAF industry and production market within Canada.
“We are proud to expand our partnership with Air Canada by supplying them with a large volume of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for use at Vancouver Airport. It is the first time our SAF is supplied to Canada,” said Carl Nyberg, Executive Vice President at Neste. “It underlines our commitment to supporting the Canadian aviation industry in its efforts to mitigate emissions and also shows the important role that policy support can play in accelerating SAF usage. We look forward to continuing our excellent collaboration with Air Canada.”
Neste, a global leader in SAF production, will deliver the neat SAF purchased in a blended form to the Vancouver marine terminal starting next month, with further shipments throughout 2025. This purchase marks Air Canada’s first commercial import of SAF into Canada.
Despite recent capacity increases, the global SAF supply remains limited and expensive, only meeting a small fraction of worldwide demand. IATA, the International Air Transport Association, has highlighted this challenge, noting that even a tripling of SAF production in 2024 would still only account for 0.53% of aviation’s total fuel requirements.
Air Canada, alongside other major Canadian companies, has been actively engaging with Canadian governments to advocate for increased SAF availability and support the development of a cost-competitive domestic SAF supply. This effort requires a balanced approach that aligns demand with supply, enabling aviation to decarbonize through energy transition while mitigating impacts on consumers.
Canada possesses unique advantages in SAF production, including abundant renewable feedstocks, advanced refining capabilities, and innovative technology providers. By leveraging these strengths, Canada can establish a resilient supply chain that supports its environmental goals while driving economic growth and job creation.
Air Canada remains steadfast in its pursuit of its long-term aspirational goal of net-zero GHG emissions from all its global operations by 2050 and its absolute midterm GHG net reduction targets by 2030 for both its air and ground operations, compared to its 2019 baseline.
Through Air Canada’s Leave Less Travel Program, corporate customers and cargo freight forwarders can purchase scope 3 environmental attributes associated with SAF, carbon offsets, or a combination of both, related to their own business air travel or cargo shipments on Air Canada. This program serves as one of many initiatives aimed at assisting customers in achieving their own environmental sustainability goals.
