European Parliament: Airlines must introduce green fuel from 2025

Also, the concept of green aviation fuel was expanded and more ambitious targets for decarbonization of the sector were proposed

The European Parliament has taken an even more ambitious position than the European Commission on the question of the airline industry decarbonization. To that end, yesterday, the MEPs approved draft rules that will increase the usage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by the sector.

This will be done in incremental stages, roughly every 5 years until the SAF makes up 85% of an airplane’s fuel mix by 2050. The Commission’s proposal for that share was 63% in comparison. 2025 will be the year when mixing in green fuel will become obligatory for airlines – with a minimum of 2%.

The Parliament has also agreed to expand the scope of what can be considered green jet fuel.

Climate action in the skies

Under the European Commission’s proposal, tabled in July 2021, SAFs were limited to e-fuels and second-generation biofuels from EU-approved feedstocks as listed in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

The Parliament voted to broaden the list of feedstocks that can be used in the production of SAF. In their view, this can also include recycled carbon fuels produced from waste processing gas, as well as biofuels derived from animal fats (up until 2034). Green hydrogen and renewable electricity were also added.

On the other hand, some products were dropped from the definition. These include palm oil by-products and food crops, including palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD), intermediate crops, and palm or soy-derived distillates. The reasoning was that palm oil production has shown to be threatening to natural biospheres, resulting in the destruction of forests for the planting of palms.

The expansion of the SAF category was also motivated by the need for stronger independence from imported fuels.

The proposed rules aren’t final yet. To become law, they have to be agreed by negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states during so-called trialogue talks due to start in September.