The price of aviation biofuels could be at a competitive rate within the next decade, new research suggests.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the cost of some biofuels based on non-food vegetable oils such as soybean and rapeseed could match the price of conventional jet fuel by 2018.

The research also suggests that airlines may most likely use the conventional biofuels based on edible vegetable oil and only 2% of other biofuels in their fuel mix in the next few years.

Harry Boyle, Senior Analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance said: “If governments want airlines to burn a significant proportion of non-fossil fuel before 2020, they will have either to subsidise advanced-but-not-yet-economic biofuels or, more likely, introduce mandates requiring carriers to use a certain percentage of sustainable biofuels in their mix.”

The Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which helps meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, has been extended to the airline industry to reduce their target of carbon emissions by 6% by 2020 using biofuels.