Bayer Executive: Airlines Must Ink Long-term Deals on Greener Fuels

Reuters

12:01 JST, June 12, 2025

MONTREAL (Reuters) — Airlines need to reach long-term agreements to buy bigger quantities of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) if they want to boost global volumes of the lower-emission fuel required for industry climate targets, a Bayer executive said on June 3.

Airline members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) are sticking to a target of net zero emissions by 2050 despite warnings that carriers will struggle to meet such sustainability goals due to low production of SAF, which is more expensive than conventional jet fuel.

While airlines have called for greater action by energy companies and other partners to boost SAF volumes, Matthias Berninger, a Bayer executive vice president and sustainability head, said in Montreal there needs to be more long-term purchases of the fuel, similar to some commitments in the renewable energy sector.

Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, said its crop science unit sells seeds and pesticides to farmers who produce crops for biomass-based feedstocks used to develop biofuels.

“If they [airlines] commit to buy a certain amount over a certain period of time, we can guarantee that farmers will grow it and processors will process it,” Berninger said to Reuters.