Capt Najomo
Nigeria has taken a significant step towards developing Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) by hosting a high-level regional workshop on Access to Finance for SAF Production in Lagos.
The workshop, organized by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in collaboration with the National Council on Climate Change Secretariat (NCCCS) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), brought together stakeholders from 14 African countries, international financial institutions, and SAF project developers.
The workshop aimed to address investment challenges, risk mitigation, and project bankability on SAF, and marked a major step in Nigeria’s transition towards the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
Director General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, inaugurated six Technical Working Groups (TWGs) that will guide Nigeria’s SAF development across policy, feedstock, infrastructure, finance, sustainability, and technology.
The TWGs will play a crucial role in shaping Nigeria’s SAF roadmap, and the workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss different de-risking strategies and the role of all actors in achieving viable SAF production in Africa.
The workshop also enhanced the understanding of SAF Direct Supply Line and its financial assessment tools, shared best practices in financial practices, and identified key stakeholders in the finance space.
The event was attended by representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), EU delegations to Nigeria and WACAF, other international organizations, industry stakeholders, and partners.
The workshop was coordinated by the Directorate of Air Transport Regulations of the NCAA.
According to Capt. Chris Najomo, access to finance for SAF production projects is critical in reducing the environmental impact of aviation, which aligns with ICAO’s Long-Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) on net zero carbon emission by 2050.
Najomo days the workshop marked a significant step towards achieving this goal, and Nigeria’s commitment to developing SAF is expected to have a positive impact on the environment and the aviation industry.
The development of SAF is a crucial step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, and Nigeria’s efforts in this area are expected to contribute to the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
And with the Technical Working Groups in place, Nigeria is poised to take a leading role in the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels in Africa.
