IFM Investors and Qantas are urging the Albanese government to introduce demand-side targets for airlines to use sustainable aviation fuel, warning Australia risks missing out on a new export industry. The federal government is currently reviewing how to support the country's low-carbon liquid fuels sector, which would turn crops and waste oils into fuel for aviation and freight. A formal SAF mandate would give producers a guaranteed market and give investors confidence to build refineries in Australia. Without it, the country could end up exporting feedstocks and importing finished fuel later. The push shows how aviation decarbonization is becoming a trade and industrial policy question, not just an emissions target.
