The EU has agreed rules requiring airlines to start using green aviation fuels from 2025 as it steps up plans to cut emissions from one of the bloc’s most polluting sectors.
All aviation fuel at EU airports will have to be blended with sustainable aviation fuels, starting with a minimum share of 2% in 2025 and increasing every five years to reach 70% by 2050 .
These historic rules are part of the EU’s ambitious strategy climate change legislation, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels Covered by the rules include biofuels, recycled carbon fuels, and synthetic fuels, such as e-kerosene, which is produced from captured CO₂ and hydrogen. Specific targets have been set for these synthetic fuels, which are to be included from 2030. Fuels made from food and feed crops such as soy are excluded.
The rules aim to relaunch the production of sustainable aircraft fuels in Europe, which are currently only produced in small quantities. Airports will be required to provide the necessary infrastructure to refuel with sustainable fuels.
Matteo Mirolo, aviation director of the green group Transport & Environment, said the agreement “would provide Airlines companies with the certainty that synthetic kerosene will become cheaper and widely available”.
In addition, planes departing from EU airports will only be allowed to refuel with the volumes needed to complete their flight, to avoid attempts to circumvent sustainability requirements..
According to the European Commission, emissions from aviation are growing faster than emissions from most other sectors. Aviation emissions rose 5% year-on-year between 2013 and 2019 before a temporary dip during the pandemic, the commission said, and are expected to rise further.
The new measures are expected to reduce aircraft carbon emissions by around two-thirds by 2050. This comes on top of other transport legislation, such as requiring the sector to pay for carbon emissions in under the EU emissions trading system.
“These kinds of measures help make Europe a leader in the production of innovative clean fuels, globally,” said Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport.
“The ramp-up of sustainable aviation fuels can now begin,” Mirolo said, adding, however, that more work was needed, including on policies for industrial support for synthetic kerosene.
The agreement reached on Tuesday evening between the European Parliament and the Member States still needs to be formally approved by the two institutions.
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