Establishing a Sustainability Certification System for Aviation Fuel in China

Amid escalating global warming challenges, the aviation industry must adopt low-carbon and green practices. China, aiming to meet its dual carbon goals, urgently requires enhanced research and development in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), including their sustainability certification. However, China’s regulatory framework and limited research foundation in biofuels exacerbate this endeavor. This article summarizes the development status of SAF sustainability certification internationally and within China, encompassing the indicator framework, full life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) calculation methodologies, and emission reduction thresholds. It also highlights issues encountered in the application of current international sustainability certification systems in China, such as high certification costs and inadequate data security. Advancement in domestic sustainability certification in China faces obstacles related to the incomplete foundational database, despite possessing life cycle assessment (LCA) calculation capabilities. To address these challenges, it is imperative to expedite the development of SAF certification systems, research in big data tracking systems, and establish targeted international mutual recognition data tracking platforms. Furthermore, enhancing GHG reduction thresholds in SAF sustainability certification is crucial. These steps will expedite SAF adoption in China, significantly contributing to global decarbonization efforts.