Japan Airlines (JAL) and ENEOS announced on July 12 that they have signed a sales agreement for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). ENEOS will be the first oil distributor in Japan to import and supply SAF to JAL. The two companies plan to jointly promote the decarbonization of the aviation industry with the goal of early adoption of SAF in Japan.

The aviation industry has set a goal of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions on international flights by 2050. From this year, the industry is aiming for a 15% reduction in emissions compared to 2019. JAL has set a target of using SAF for 1% of its total fuel loading in 2025 and 10% in 2030 in its current medium- to long-term management plan.

JAL and ENEOS have reached this agreement as promoting the adoption of domestic SAF is crucial to accelerating the decarbonization of the aviation industry. JAL, along with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and others, established the private organization 'ACT FOR SKY' on March 2, 2022, with the aim of developing domestic SAF. ENEOS has also joined as a 'ACT Member', directly participating in domestic SAF and taking the lead in building the supply chain.

According to SAF annual production forecasts announced by IATA (International Air Transport Association), this year's production is expected to reach 1.9 billion liters (1.5 million tons), three times that of the previous year. However, this accounts for only 0.53% of the world's annual aviation fuel demand. IATA has appealed to governments around the world to promote policies to support the adoption of SAF to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.