Approximately 6,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) would be available for domestic and international airlines to use at airports across Taiwan this year, which would help curb about 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The use of SAF is part of government efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The nation’s three largest airlines — China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), EVA Airways Corp (EVA, 長榮航空) and Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) — yesterday began using SAF in their aircraft, the first time domestic airlines used eco-friendly fuel in Taiwan.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) imported 400 tonnes of the SAF available for use this year, while Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) produced 5,500 tonnes, the ministry said.
China Airlines and Starlux use the CPC-imported SAF, while EVA Airways uses the fuel produced by Formosa Petrochemical.
An inauguration ceremony, held the day after Earth Day, at Kaohsiung International Airport yesterday afternoon was attended by Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑), Civil Aviation Administration Director-General Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍), China Airlines chairman Kao Shing-hwang (高星潢) and CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁).
At the event, SAF was pumped into a China Airlines aircraft and an EVA plane, while video showed SAF being used by EVA and Starlux aircraft at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport respectively.
The ceremony was held at the Kaohsiung airport because it obtained carbon footprint certification from Airport Council International in 2014, making it the nation’s first green airport, Ho said.
“Making SAF available at international airports is a global trend as international airlines seek to reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the regulations stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization,” she said.
“Like other countries, we are encouraging, rather than mandating, that Taiwanese airlines use SAF. Hopefully, by 2030, at least 5 percent of the total aviation fuel would be SAF,” she added.
CPC and Formosa Petrochemical secured certifications from the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation in December last year and Feb. 2 respectively.
CPC “will begin producing SAF next year,” Fang said. “The main problem is importing waste cooking oil from other countries, which we would resolve by working with the Ministry of Environment.”
Kao said the supply of SAF remains insufficient, adding that China Airlines would begin using it on flights heading to EU nations, which have begun implementing fuel regulations.
Using SAF would increase the airline’s fuel costs, but they would gradually decrease with the increase in supply, he said.
Asked whether the rise in fuel costs would also lead to increases in airfares, Kao said that ticket prices were mainly determined by supply and demand in the commercial aviation market.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS