India’s aviation watchdog is moving towards making carbon emissions reporting mandatory for international flights. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to introduce rules requiring airlines to measure and publicly disclose their carbon dioxide emissions, according to reports from ET Finance. This development comes as India simultaneously advances a roadmap for blending sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, into the jet fuel used by airlines.
Sustainable aviation fuel is produced from renewable sources including used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and other organic materials. Unlike traditional jet kerosene, SAF burns with significantly lower carbon emissions. India’s SAF blending roadmap sets targets for gradually increasing the percentage of sustainable fuel mixed into regular aviation fuel over the next decade. Several countries including the United States and European Union nations already have similar blending mandates in place.
The timing of these two initiatives suggests India is tackling aviation emissions through both transparency and direct fuel substitution. Currently, Indian airlines do not face uniform mandatory emissions reporting requirements. International carriers operating from Indian airports would fall under the new reporting rules if the DGCA mandate is implemented. This is significant because aviation represents approximately 2-3 percent of global carbon emissions, and India’s aviation sector ranks among the world’s fastest growing in terms of passenger numbers and flight frequency.
For airlines, the emissions reporting requirement means investing in monitoring and tracking systems to measure carbon output accurately. SAF blending mandates will require closer coordination with fuel suppliers to ensure consistent supply of the cleaner fuel alternative. Airlines argue that SAF currently costs more than conventional jet fuel, though blending it gradually gives the industry time to increase production and reduce prices through economies of scale.
For Indian passengers, mandatory emissions reporting won’t directly affect ticket prices or flight schedules. However, it makes airline environmental performance visible and comparable. Businesses and individual travellers may increasingly factor emissions data into their airline choice. The SAF blending requirement, when implemented, will be invisible to passengers but represents a material shift in aviation fuel composition towards lower-carbon alternatives.
These moves position India among countries implementing concrete regulatory measures on aviation emissions rather than relying solely on industry voluntary commitments. The International Air Transport Association represents major global airlines and has set targets for net-zero emissions by 2050, but individual nations are now moving faster with their own mandatory frameworks.
Source: ET Finance
