The ClimateTech Digital Year in Stories: December

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Shell and Accenture’s Avelia now supports air freight SAF solutions
We look at the articles that made the news across the climate tech space 2024. Today, it is December’s turn, featuring Shell, Amex GBT, Accenture & Tencent

Shell’s Blockchain Solution to Scaling SAF

Each year, 35% of the world’s trade value is carried by air.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) could reduce aircraft CO₂ emissions by 80% compared to traditional jet fuel – that’s 2% of global emissions across all sectors. 

Air freight produced nearly 20% of all aviation emissions in 2018 and the volume of air cargo flight increased 25% in 2023. 

Getting the sustainability benefits of SAF into supply chains could make a big sustainability impact. 

Avelia is a digital platform built by Shell and Accenture with support from Amex Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) that opens up access to SAF for airline operators and corporations. 

The platform is expanding into the air freight sector with Avelia Air Freight Solutions.

Powered by blockchain technology, Avelia has already delivered more than 18 million gallons of SAF and abated more than 165,000 tonnes of CO₂e in business travel and aims to make a difference in air freight. 

"The high cost of SAF requires innovative solutions. By enabling the sharing of environmental attributes between physical SAF users and organisations seeking to meet their sustainability targets, Avelia creates a pathway for broader participation in aviation decarbonisation," says Raman Ojha, President of Shell Aviation.

"Avelia is now evolving to meet the air freight sector's need for solutions to demonstrate verified emissions reduction progress.

“Through enabling freight forwarders to access and allocate SAF environmental attributes to their shipping customers, both parties can access these attributes for emissions disclosure while supporting broader SAF adoption.”

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Global Plastics Treaty: What a 'No Deal' Could Actually Mean

Global plastics treaty negotiations at the INC-5 Summit in Busan, South Korea, have concluded without resolution, leading to widespread concern and criticism.

The discussions, involving representatives from 200 countries, were anticipated to culminate in a significant agreement.

However, they ceased abruptly on Sunday, overshadowed by the influence of major oil-producing nations. A follow-up to this summit, satirically dubbed INC 5.2, is scheduled for next year.

The summit in Busan was heralded as pivotal, following two years of deliberations.

The likes of Greenpeace have labelled it "the most important multilateral treaty" since the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Expectations were high that nations would bridge their differences to forge a comprehensive agreement on plastic production and waste.

More than 100 countries rallied behind a new initiative led by Panama aiming for a global commitment to curtail plastic production to "sustainable levels."

However, resistance was formidable, particularly from Saudi Arabia, which orchestrated a collective stance among oil-rich and plastic-producing countries to thwart any measures that might decrease plastic production. 

Ecuadorian diplomat Luis Vayas — who chaired the negotiations and who proposed suspending the troubled talks until a later date – says: “While it is encouraging that portions of the text have been agreed upon, we must also recognise that a few critical issues still prevent us from reaching a comprehensive agreement.”

Three more December highlights

Tencent's CarbonX: Supercharging Climate Tech Innovation

Why Carbon Capture Needs Renewables to Scale

Amex GBT's Director of Global Sustainability on SAF Adoption


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