MONTREAL, June 3 (Rtrs) - Airlines need to reach

long-term agreements to buy bigger quantities of sustainable

aviation fuel if they want to boost global volumes of the

lower-emission fuel required for industry climate targets, a

Bayer executive said on Tuesday.

Airline members of the International Air Transport

Association are sticking to a target of net zero emissions by

2050 despite warnings that carriers will struggle to meet such

sustainability goals due to low production of SAF, which is more

expensive than conventional jet fuel. IATA, which wrapped up a

summit in India on Tuesday, expects the amount of sustainable

aviation fuel produced to double in 2025 to reach 2 million

tonnes, representing 0.7% of airlines' fuel consumption.

While airlines have called for greater action by energy

companies and other partners to boost SAF volumes, Matthias

Berninger, a Bayer executive vice president and sustainability

head, said in Montreal there needs to be more long-term

purchases of the fuel, similar to some commitments in the

renewable energy sector.

Bayer's Monsanto unit sells seeds and pesticides to farmers

who produce crops for biomass-based feedstocks used to develop

biofuels.

"If they (airlines) commit to buy a certain amount over a

certain period of time, we can guarantee that farmers will grow

it and processors will process it," Berninger told Reuters on

the sidelines of the International Civil Aviation

Organization's aviation climate week. "And the question whether

or not that supply meets the market (demand) depends on

long-term purchasing contracts of the airline industry sending a

very clear demand signal comparable to what we have in the

renewable space."

SAF can be produced from plants, used cooking oil or wastes,

among other products.

(Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by David Gregorio)