Cathay Pacific is stepping up its efforts to help decarbonise the aviation industry, as it sets a new target to improve its carbon intensity by 12% from the 2019 level by 2030.

The airline also further strengthens its commitment to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with a 10% usage pledge for employee duty travel starting from 2024.

Cathay Pacific announced these measures to strengthen its commitment to sustainability and achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

It said that the new near-term target aims to improve carbon intensity by reducing the carbon emissions from Cathay's jet fuel use per revenue tonne kilometre (RTK) from 761 gCO2/RTK to 670 gCO2/RTK.

"To achieve these improvements, more than 70 new passenger and freighter aircraft, which can be up to 25% more fuel efficient compared with the previous generation, will be joining Cathay’s fleet over the coming years," Cathay added.

The Hong Kong flag carrier noted that accelerating the use of SAF remains the most important lever for achieving the new target and net-zero operations in the long run.

"Taking one step further to scale up SAF usage on all fronts, Cathay will use SAF to offset 10% of the carbon emissions from employee duty travel on Cathay Pacific flights from 2024 onwards," it added.

Since 2007, Cathay has been offsetting all emissions from employee duty travel on flights with the airline using carbon credits through its voluntary carbon offset programme, Fly Greener.

It said that this new move is in line with its pioneering position in accelerating the development and deployment of SAF in the region and, more importantly, contributing to its 10% SAF usage by 2030 goal.

"Despite being a major airline with one of the best carbon intensity performances in the world, we are determined to improve our climate performance even further via accelerating the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), modernising our fleet and driving operational improvements. This new carbon intensity target will provide the necessary drive for actions in the immediate future towards achieving our long-term goals," said Ronald Lam, chief executive officer at Cathay Pacific.

As one of the first airlines in Asia to set a target of 10% SAF for its total fuel consumption by 2030, Cathay noted that it fully recognises the challenges in transitioning to more sustainable energy in aviation.

To support this mission, Cathay said it has undertaken a multi-pronged approach to forge strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations and stakeholders along the SAF value chain.

This includes introducing Asia’s first major Corporate SAF Programme for corporate customers to use SAF to reduce their aviation-related indirect emissions, as well as co-initiating the launch of the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition earlier this year.