by Jeff Overton (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) As the aviation industry recovers from the severe contraction caused by the pandemic, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) will be essential to help the sector achieve a path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Sustainable “drop-in” fuels, which can be used with existing fueling infrastructure and with no changes required for aircraft fuel systems or engines, are currently being deployed. However, SAF currently accounts for less than one percent of U.S. and global commercial aviation fuel consumption. In 2019, the U.S. commercial aviation industry consumed 18.3 billion gallons of jet fuel (taking into account both domestic and international scheduled traffic) and used approximately 2.4 million gallons of SAF.