United Airlines said that it has partnered with firms worldwide, including Siemens AG and Nike Inc, in an ‘Eco-Skies Alliance’ to finance the use of about 3.4 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel that is low in carbon derived from the trash. United Airlines has named 11 of more than a dozen global partners for the plan but did not disclose the cost or how much each partner would contribute to the cause.
Though minuscule compared with the 4.3 billion gallons of jet fuel that United consumed in 2019 before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the amount tripled the roughly 1 million gallons of sustainable fuel that the company has used each year since 2016.
Airlines have used sustainable fuel since 2008 as part of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but this represents barely 1% of the fuel used worldwide, industry experts said. Air transport accounts for a total of 2%-3% of greenhouse gas emissions, the French aerospace association said on Tuesday, 13th April. Environmental groups argue that the sector’s overall contribution is higher than the estimated figure.
