New Legislation Sets Policy Menu for Sustainable Aviation Fuels

by Jeff Overton (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) As the aviation industry recovers from the severe contraction caused by the pandemic, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) will be essential to help the sector achieve a path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Sustainable “drop-in” fuels, which can be used with existing fueling infrastructure and with no changes required for aircraft fuel systems or engines, are currently being deployed. However, SAF currently accounts for less than one percent of U.S. and global commercial aviation fuel consumption. In 2019, the U.S. commercial aviation industry consumed 18.3 billion gallons of jet fuel (taking into account both domestic and international scheduled traffic) and used approximately 2.4 million gallons of SAF.

On November 18, Representative Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act (H.R. 8769). The bill, described by Rep. Brownley during a recent EESI aviation briefing, establishes a national goal for the U.S. aviation sector of a net 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 and net-zero domestic and international aviation emissions by 2050. To help meet these goals, the bill promotes the development, distribution, and use of SAFs, which can reduce life-cycle GHG aviation emissions by up to 80 percent.

According to Chris Tindal of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), policy support is an essential tool to create the rapid scale-up of the SAF industry, and Rep. Brownley’s bill provides a set of proposals to drive the growth of this carbon reduction strategy. The bill would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue its research of aviation’s contribution to climate change and investigate ways to reduce the sector’s climate impact and increase the use of SAF. The Departments of Energy and Agriculture would be authorized to study the use of cover crops as feedstocks, which could potentially produce co-benefits, such as generating revenue for farmers while helping protect and restore the soil and improve its carbon absorption.

To increase SAF production and support logistics, the bill provides grant funding of $1 billion over five years for “projects in the U.S. to produce, transport, blend, or store SAF.” READ MORE