From Waste Stream to Aviation Decarbonization Asset: Opportunities and Challenges of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)–Based HEFA Sustainable Aviation Fuel Under ICAO CORSIA

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is presented as a key near- to mid-term option for reducing aviation emissions because it can be used as a drop-in fuel with existing aircraft and infrastructure while achieving significant life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions when derived from low-carbon feedstocks. Within ICAO’s CORSIA framework, life-cycle accounting and the use of default versus actual emissions values determine how airlines can claim GHG reductions from SAF. The paper focuses on Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)—a residue stream from crude palm oil processing—and its conversion to SAF via the HEFA pathway, highlighting ICAO’s establishment of a low default life-cycle emissions factor (18.1 gCO₂e/MJ) for POME-based HEFA SAF relative to a jet fuel baseline of 89 gCO₂e/MJ. Using a qualitative literature review and policy-document triangulation, it synthesizes the opportunities associated with residue classification, Indonesia’s potential as a large-scale residue-based SAF supplier, and the growing policy recognition of POME as an “accountable” SAF feedstock. It also identifies major challenges, including supply-chain variability, MRV integrity and traceability risks, infrastructure and conversion constraints, and the need to coordinate domestic allocation and international trade policies. The paper concludes with governance and policy recommendations aimed at building trustworthy traceability and accounting systems and aligning incentives to scale POME-based SAF under CORSIA without undermining broader sustainability expectations.