On April 3, 2025, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the official launch of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Registry (SAF Registry). Managed by CADO (Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization), the SAF Registry is designed to promote the widespread use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) in the aviation industry through a standardized, transparent and globalized marketplace, accelerating the achievement of the 2050 vision of net-zero carbon emissions.

The SAF Registry Directory is the world's first system for standardized tracking of sustainable aviation fuel transactions, and its core features include:

● Immutable Environmental Attributes: Records the environmental benefits (e.g., carbon emission reductions) of each SAF purchase, preventing double-counting and ensuring that the data is transparent and trustworthy.

● Cross-regional docking: break through geographical restrictions to help airlines directly dock with global SAF producers and suppliers, alleviating the current shortage and uneven distribution of SAF supply.

● Supports multi-party participation: airlines, corporate customers, fuel producers and regulators can share the cost of decarbonization through the platform by accounting for and declaring emission reductions.

● Regulatory compatibility: technology and raw material neutral, adapting to different regional policies, while supporting interoperability with other carbon registry systems and promoting an open and competitive market.

CADO (Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization) was established in March 2025 to maintain and operate the SAF Registry Directory developed by IATA.

The SAF Registry Directory is based on consultations with airlines, government agencies, original equipment manufacturers, fuel producers and suppliers, and corporate business travel management companies, and is based on IATA's SAF Accounting and Reporting Program (SRP), which accounts for the environmental benefits of SAF purchases in accordance with a consistent program, regardless of location.

This follows IATA's January 31, 2025 release of the SAF Accounting and Reporting Program.

Read more: IATA and 123Carbon join forces to promote global interoperability of SAF registration systems - SAF accounting and reporting scheme: Standardization helps aviation decarbonization

More than 30 initial users have already registered and are ready to use the registry, including: Airbus, Boeing, Cathay Pacific Airways, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Securities and Exchange Board of the Bahamas (SCB) Environmental Protection Agency, and others. agencies, etc.

Membership in the SAF Registry is free until April 2027, after which it will operate on a cost-recovery basis.

Ms. Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, said, "Decarbonizing the aviation industry is a team effort. On the occasion of CADO's launch of the SAF Registry, we have created a key platform for the benefit of all stakeholders to ensure that SAFs are available to all airlines globally and that their SAF purchases can be used to offset the industry's related emissions reduction obligations. The Registration List is not a panacea, but without it, no breakthroughs or changes would be possible."

In addition, she emphasized that "sustained development requires active policy support to expand the production of all renewable energy sources and support for SAFs in their production. Governments must reallocate direct support to fossil fuel producers in favor of renewable energy production. The precedent of the wind and solar markets is the example to follow, and there is no time like the present."

SAFs are seen as one of the key tools to help decarbonize the aviation industry in the short to medium term. However, with SAF currently accounting for only 0.3% of global jet fuel demand and costing 3-5 times more than conventional fuels, there is a strong need for standardized accounting and market mechanisms to drive adoption at scale.

Although there are still bottlenecks on the road to SAF scale, the launch of the SAF Registry is an important step towards a mature, transparent and efficient global market for SAF.

Author: Qinger