SAF Producer Neste Walks Back 2035 Zero-Emission Pledge

Company has agreements to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for Boeing, Airbus, and several major U.S. airlines.

Jack Daleo

Monday, December 29, 2025 at 03:30 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

Neste and United Airlines are partnering to supply SAF to major airports around the U.S. [Credit: United Airlines]

Key Takeaways:

Neste, the world's largest sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer, has retracted its 2035 pledge for carbon-neutral production, citing significant investment costs and current financial constraints.
The company replaced the original target with a new goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 80% by 2040 and extended its 50% reduction target from 2030 to 2035.
Factors contributing to the revised targets include ongoing large investments in its Rotterdam refinery expansion and delays in transforming its Porvoo refinery for SAF production.
Neste's revised climate commitments have global implications, potentially impacting major aviation industry partners and airlines that rely on its SAF supply to achieve their own sustainability targets.

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Finland’s Neste—which claims to be the world’s largest producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)—is walking back its pledge to achieve carbon-neutral production by 2035.

Neste made the commitment in 2020 when it signed The Climate Pledge—a coalition of 625 signatories that aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, a decade ahead of the target set by the United Nations’ Paris Agreement. In December, though, the company said its “very ambitious” target “would have required significant investments that are currently not realistic.”