Colombia moves towards more sustainable aviation with agreement between Fedepalma, LATAM Airlines

Photo: LATAM Airlines

Colombia’s National Federation of Oil Palm Growers (Fedepalma) announced July 17 that it has signed a technical and scientific cooperation agreement with LATAM Airlines  to promote the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Colombia.

This five-year alliance represents a key step in the energy transition of the aviation sector, according to Fedepalma, and positions the country as a benchmark in the development of sustainable solutions based on local raw materials.

SAF is emerging as one of the most viable alternatives to reduce carbon emissions from air transport, a sector responsible for about 2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions.

Through this alliance, Fedepalma will contribute its technical knowledge in sustainable palm-oil production while LATAM will promote the development of an efficient and transparent value chain for the use of SAF in Colombia.

This agreement is part of a national and international context in which decarbonization of air transport is a priority.

The EU, U.S. and several Latin American countries have already set concrete goals for incorporating biofuels into their air operations.

Colombia, thanks to its agro-industrial potential, has a strategic opportunity to be a regional supplier of SAF as long as the process is developed under sustainability and traceability standards.

Fedepalma said it has led the transformation of the palm sector with responsible agricultural practices, circular-economy initiatives and alliances to improve the traceability of its production chain.

This experience is key to ensuring that the production of raw material for SAF does not compete with food security or environmental conservation.

With this agreement, Fedepalma said it and LATAM Airlines ratify their commitment to sustainability, technological development and the energy transition in Colombia.