Aviation emissions solution will create agricultural emissions problem
SASKATOON, SK—Today, the NFU released an ambitious report critical of a megaproject to shift the energy supply for the global jet fleet from oil fields to farm fields. Termed “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” or SAF, the plan is to transition much of the jet-fuel supply to bio-based sources: grains and oilseeds, first, then to agricultural residues such as straw and corn stover, and later to purpose-grown energy crops—fast-growing grasses and trees.
There are many problems created by the immense scale of this global project. One is that producing all this additional farm-sourced biomass will require more nitrogen fertilizer. Increased fertilizer tonnage will mean increased on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “The aviation industry’s climate solution creates an agricultural emissions problem,” commented the report’s lead author, the NFU’s Director of Climate Crisis Policy and Action, Darrin Qualman.
Adding to the fertilizer-related emissions problem, the removal of enormous quantities of biomass will slow or reverse soil carbon sequestration. “One good-news story with regard to agricultural emissions, sustainability, soil health, and climate adaptation is the move to reduce tillage and increase rates of soil carbon storage—sequestration. Aggressive biomass removals for SAFs, other biofuels, biomaterials, and bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) will have significant adverse impacts on farmers’ attempts to sequester carbon and build healthy soils,” said Qualman.
Atop these farm emissions and carbon sequestration problems come food-price impacts as hundreds-of-billions of aviation-sector fuel dollars enter the agricultural product market to compete with food consumers. “SAF may come to stand for Sacrificing Affordable Food,” said Qualman. Aviation sector leaders acknowledge potential adverse impacts on food prices.
Exacerbating such problems are the expansion plans of the aviation sector. Airlines plan to more than double flights and passenger volumes by 2050. By mid-century, projected fuel demand will reach two-thirds of a trillion litres per year. “Airline industry plans are to source most of the feedstocks for their fuels from farmlands globally. Producing two-thirds of a trillion litres per year, most of it from biomass, will require billions of tonnes of feedstocks annually: grains, oilseeds, straw, corn stover, and purpose-grown energy crops. It is reckless to impose such demands on a global farmland base that will be pressed to feed billions more people and, simultaneously, hit ever harder by climate impacts,” said Qualman.
The preceding are just a few of the many problems created by SAFs. The NFU report opens with a summary section that concisely lists twenty important points regarding SAFs. Journalists, policymakers, and the public are encouraged to read that section.
The NFU’s report is entitled “Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): A Critical Analysis, with a Focus on Agriculture, Land, and Food” and is available at https://www.nfu.ca/publications/sustainable-aviation-fuel/
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For more information:
Darrin Qualman, Director of Climate Crisis Policy and Action, qualman@nfu.ca (306) 230-9115
