Hot shots can fly into Davos with sustainable fuel, but here’s why it’s so infrequently used

Zurich Airport, near the World Economic Forum in Davos, on Monday touted the fact that a business aircraft used a blend of sustainable and conventional fuel.

The fuel, made by Finland’s Neste NESTE, +1.39% , aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%, the airport said.

But it’s barely used — the International Energy Agency says aviation biofuel production of about 15 million liters accounted for less than 0.1% of total aviation fuel consumption in 2018.

Getting emissions lower from jet fuel is important. According to the IEA, aviation emissions account for just over 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions and this is expected to rise to 3.5% by 2030.

Unlike cars, it is difficult to electrify plane travel. Batteries would have to deliver a massive amount of power on take-off, and be light and long-lasting. At the moment, batteries do not meet the requirements to replace jet fuel on long-haul commercial flights, so the only real way to lower the climate impact of flying is to make fuel greener.