THOMAS FUNKE: Sustainable aviation fuels can give SA a greener future, economic growth and more jobs

As global leaders gathered for the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) recently to tackle the pressing challenges of climate change, the aviation industry emerged as a critical focus area.

With international air travel rebounding, the need for sustainable solutions to decarbonise air transport has never been more urgent. Air travel contributes 2.5% of total annual carbon emissions globally. 

Aviation fuels are a recurring theme in COP29 discussions, with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) seen as a cornerstone for achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century.

For SA, this global shift presents a unique opportunity to harness its agricultural strength — particularly its sugar cane industry — to establish itself as a leader in SAF production. However, turning this potential into reality requires more than aspiration; it demands a clear and actionable framework. 

It also requires significant investment into developing the capacity required that would turn sugar produced ethanol into aviation fuel. Despite the initial upfront cost, the case of SAFs in SA is clear. We have several factors that make the country an attractive proposition for the global SAFs market: our airports are already a strategic hub for international air travel, and we have mothballed fuel refinery capacity and experience at the ready.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates that SA has the capacity to produce double the amount of SAFs needed to service local demand, which puts us in a prime position to service global airlines as well.

Global demand for sustainable fuels is only increasing. Recently, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on SA to “mobilise its experience, resources and infrastructure to accelerate the development of SAF production” in the country. Airlines are under pressure to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and “every drop” of SAFs produced is purchased and used. 

On the supply side, SA has enough land and viable feedstock to manufacture SAFs and maintain agriculture production to ensure security of food supply. What is more, SAFs have the potential to transform the livelihoods of SA sugar farmers by offering a new market for their produce.

Currently, SA cane growers primarily deliver sugar cane to be crushed into refined sugar. But as rising input costs diminish profit margins and policies such as the sugar tax negatively affect the financial viability of the industry, there has been a drop in land under sugar cane cultivation.

Independent modelling by agricultural consultancy the Bureau for Food & Agricultural Policy shows that under the current sugar tax regime land under sugar cane cultivation is expected to decline to such an extent that the industry will shed 10% of current jobs by 2031, with devastating consequences for the rural economy. 

Sugar cane in SA is often grown on agricultural land that is not suitable for other land crops owing to the hilly nature of some areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Small-scale growers often grow cane on smaller plots of land that are not viable for producing other land crops at scale and are far too small to pivot to livestock farming. Their options are often limited to growing sugar cane or leaving the land fallow.

Thus, unlocking a new market for sugar cane means the industry can keep agricultural land productive, maintain jobs and ensure economic stability in rural areas where there are limited means to create sustainable livelihoods.

SA Canegrowers represents 1,200 large-scale and 24,000 small-scale growers and is committed to ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of the SA sugar cane growing sector. Securing a secondary value chain and buyer for the agricultural products these growers produce makes economic sense. 

Under the Sugar Industry Value Chain Masterplan, a compact between government and industry, much work has gone into exploring alternative uses for sugar cane, including the production of SAFs. 

By embracing SAFs made from sugar cane, SA would not only be securing rural agricultural jobs, it would also be investing into a broader industrialisation of the country and create countless new jobs as a new sector takes root.

However, significant investment into the infrastructure to turn sugar into jet fuel is needed. This requires both industry interest and deep pockets and government support. As forestry, fisheries & the environment minister Dion George said at the COP29 conference, climate mitigation in developing nations cannot be achieved without adequate climate finance. 

SA Canegrowers agrees with this, but investment into sustainable industries also requires a cohesive and supportive government policy environment that encourages the investment and allows the time for the nascent industry to develop and grow.   

SAFs represent a great opportunity for SA. Last year the EU indicated that it was going to allocate as much as €150bn to Africa under the Global Gateway infrastructure fund, which includes accelerating green transition projects such as the development of SAF infrastructure. 

To take advantage of these and other opportunities, SA needs to develop a cohesive policy that signals confidence to the international community and investors that there is serious support for the development of SAFs in the country. Government support is vital to unlock the funding needed to get the SA SAFs project over the line. Without it, this green industrialisation project will not be feasible.

Other countries in Brics and in Africa are seizing this opportunity, and SA can learn from their legislative and policy environments. Without such a comprehensive framework SA risks lagging behind global peers in adopting SAF, potentially alienating itself from international markets.

SA stands at a crossroad. With its natural resources, agricultural expertise and pressing socioeconomic needs, the country has an opportunity to align environmental sustainability with growth and job creation.

A carefully crafted SAF framework, rooted in the sugar industry, could propel SA into a greener aviation future while delivering economic benefits to its people.

Dr Funke is CEO of SA Canegrowers.