Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has called for the development of a long-term strategy to scale up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use beyond 2030, emphasizing the need for mandatory targets and consistent government policies to meet the city’s climate objectives. The airline’s appeal follows a proposal from a mainland Chinese official advocating for supportive measures, including subsidies, to encourage SAF sales across the Greater Bay Area, which includes Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province.

Ronald Lam Siu-por, Cathay Group’s CEO, highlighted scalability as the principal obstacle to increasing SAF adoption, noting that it currently accounts for "well under 1 percent" of global jet fuel consumption. “No airline, producer, city or government could change that alone,” Lam said, underscoring the necessity for coordinated efforts among supply, demand, policy, and financing stakeholders.

SAF is derived from renewable sources like used cooking oil and agricultural waste and can reduce carbon emissions over its life cycle by up to 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu set a target in the city’s first five-year plan for SAF to constitute between 1 and 3 percent of fuel used by departing flights by 2030.

Cathay Group is actively supporting market growth through direct purchases of SAF—including varieties produced in mainland China—and investments in future supply chains and cutting-edge technologies. The airline is also fostering demand by engaging corporate and cargo customers via its corporate SAF programme and collaborating with industry partners, universities, and research institutions through the Hong Kong Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition.

Lam stressed the importance of giving producers confidence that demand will be sustained, ensuring fuel is available and affordable for airlines, and providing investors with policy clarity. “A well-designed policy can connect these needs,” he said.

Grace Cheung, Cathay’s general manager for sustainability, emphasized the need for a clearer and longer-term government roadmap. “Policymakers need to give us what we call a longer-term road map, so that we as an airline can prepare accordingly,” she said, citing the European Union’s SAF road map to 2050 as a useful model. Cheung also called for improved communication between Hong Kong and mainland authorities to ensure policy consistency, particularly concerning customs and tax treatment of SAF produced on the mainland.

While recognizing the ongoing voluntary uptake of SAF through corporate programmes and coalitions, Cheung noted that mandatory usage requirements would be essential to achieve significant scale. Cathay’s SAF usage reached approximately 0.7 percent in 2025—higher than the global average of below 1 percent—but further expansion hinges on market conditions and regulatory developments.

Qu Yong, head of the energy division at the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission, acknowledged that increasing production capacity for SAF is relatively straightforward, but translating that capacity into actual sales and practical application demands stronger policy support. Qu recommended introducing financial subsidies and incentives in the Greater Bay Area to boost SAF transactions and promote research to expand acceptable feedstocks beyond used cooking oil.