Cathay Pacific: Green aviation fuel needs Hong Kong government support

Hong Kong’s aviation sector needs more pressure from the government to meet its climate targets, even as consumption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has risen from low levels thanks to corporate support, according to Cathay Pacific.

“Regulators play a key role in ensuring a level playing field to ensure that everyone (participant) does the right thing for society,” said Grace Cheung, general manager of sustainability at leading carrier, Asian Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. financial conference on Wednesday.

“If we leave it up to the market, every company will wait for competitors to make the first move.”

Aviation is difficult to decarbonize due to the industry’s long innovation cycles, prioritization of safe operations and high costs of key technologies, consultancy McKinsey said last year. SAF is three to five times more expensive than conventional jet fuel, according to industry publication AvBuyer.