Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced plans to launch sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credits in July, in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Temasek Holdings.

The airline said 1,000 SAF credits will be available for sale, generated from 1000 tonnes of neat SAF which is blended, delivered, and uplifted from Singapore Changi Airport. 

SIA's corporate customers and freight forwarders can purchase SAF credits directly from SIA, mitigating carbon emissions related to their flights.

Meanwhile, freight forwarders can also sell credits to their downstream clients to reduce carbon emissions from their business operations.

"As we progress with the SAF pilot in Singapore, we can now offer more opportunities for our corporate customers and travelers to mitigate their carbon emissions using SAF credits, which are registered and accounted for within the RSB Book & Claim System. This will help to accelerate and scale up the collective adoption of SAF, reinforcing our commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050," said Lee Wen Fen, senior vice president of corporate planning, Singapore Airlines.

For his part, Han Kok Juan, director-general, CAAS said "the creation of a trusted and vibrant marketplace for the sale and purchase of SAF credits in Singapore will help support the adoption of SAF which is essential for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector and a key element of the Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint which CAAS is developing."

"The SAF pilot laid the foundation for SIA and the broader aviation community to operationalise SAF uptake in Singapore. With SAF credits, we can more effectively crowd in financing from corporates and travelers to reduce the cost premiums of SAF. This can help accelerate the adoption of SAF, which is an important pathway for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector in the medium to long term," Frederick Teo, Temasek's managing director, sustainable solutions said.

From the fourth quarter of 2022, all SIA customers will be able to purchase a mix of SAF credits and carbon offsets as part of the SIA Group Voluntary Carbon Offset Programme. 

SIA said it will also partner with Climate Impact X to introduce a bundled portfolio consisting of SAF credits and carbon credits.