Qantas Group launches USD260m climate fund

Qantas Group launched (30-May-2023) an AUD400 million (USD260.7 million) climate fund, an investment to develop solutions needed to meet sustainability targets. The fund combines AUD290 million (USD189 million) jointly committed by Qantas and Airbus in Jun-2022 and a further AUD110 million (USD71.7 million) Qantas Group investment in sustainability projects and technologies. These include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), "high integrity" offsets, carbon removal technology and efficiency and waste reduction. Qantas stated the fund "the largest sustainability investment initiative of any airline globally". Qantas also requested that Australia's Government introduce a SAF blending mandate as part of a broader framework of industry policies, similar to other countries. Qantas is currently purchasing SAF sourced overseas, including 10 million litres for flights from London in 2023 and 20 million litres p/a for flights from California from 2025. Qantas said domestically produced SAF will be key to using 10% SAF in its overall fuel mix by 2030 and around 60% by 2050. [more - original PR]