Lawmaker Proposes Raising EU Green Jet Fuel Target to 100% by 2050

by Sean Goulding Carroll (EURACTIV.com) A draft European Parliament report calls for greater ambition in the EU’s proposed green jet fuel law, including a higher percentage of mandatory sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for planes refuelling in the bloc.

The draft, seen by EURACTIV, puts forward amendments that would raise the percentage of SAF uplifted from 63% to 100% by 2050, with an increased sub-mandate for e-fuels from 28% to 65%.

A minimum share of 8% SAF by 2030 is proposed, an increase of three percentage points on the European Commission’s initial proposal.

The proposed ReFuelEU Aviation regulation was tabled in July as part of European Commission plans to halve EU emissions by 2030. It mandates that planes uptake a set percentage of SAF when refuelling at EU airports.

“It’s true that the Commission set a target of only 63% [SAF] by 2050, but the general target for climate neutrality is 100%. That’s the reason that we are working to increase this ambition,” (Spanish MEP Nicolás González) Casares told EURACTIV.

The document also pushes to have the “polluter pays” principle enacted to disincentivise short-haul flights where there are eco-friendly alternative options, such as rail travel.

Casares denied that he is advocating the EU follow the example of France, which banned internal flights where there is a rail connection of under two-and-a-half hours. Rather, his aim is to ensure “a level playing field” between air transport and more sustainable transport modes, he explained.

One novel suggestion in the draft document is the creation of an environmental labelling system for aviation aimed at passengers.

“Information should be provided to users of aviation services on life-cycle emissions of flights including on the use of sustainable alternative fuels, so that they can make informed decisions on their transport needs and the related environmental impacts,” states the text.

Under the Commission’s proposal, only advanced and waste-based biofuels produced from feedstocks set out in Annex 9 of the renewable energy directive are eligible as SAFs.

Given the paltry amount of electro-fuel commercially available at present, much of the short-term demand for SAFs will be met through the refinement of used-cooking oil, an approved feedstock that falls under Part B of Annex 9.

However, Casares has called for SAF derived from waste lipid feedstocks to be capped at 1.7%, reflecting the limit on Part B biofuels applied to transport energy targets under the renewable energy directive.

The draft amends the Commission’s text by changing the designation of SAFs produced from Part B feedstock from “essential” to “important” and adding that “their potential is limited due to constraints on the availability of feedstock, and their supply chain and collection are not always well tracked”.

The European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA) called the proposed cap on SAF from waste-based feedstock “a step in the right direction”.

EWABA has long argued that allowing scarce waste feedstock to be used for SAF production will essentially ringfence the field for large producers capable of producing aviation fuel and leave little waste feedstock to produce low-carbon biodiesel for use in other transport modes.

EWABA Secretary General Angel Alberdi told EURACTIV that the cap on waste-lipid-based SAFs should be set at a lower level in the ReFuelEU legislation to minimise green fuel essentially being taken from the road and maritime sectors to supply aviation.

Alberdi also called for higher sub-targets for e-fuels and advanced biofuels produced from residues set out in part A (excluding waste lipids) of Annex 9, and for the promotion of scalable SAF technologies such as alcohol-to-jet. READ MORE