Air transport: an agreement reached in the EU to green aircraft fuels

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP 20:04 p.m., April 26, 2023

MEPs and EU member states agreed on Wednesday to reduce polluting emissions from air transport by imposing a minimum rate of "green" fuels for planes departing from the continent. The text, part of the ambitious European climate plan, provides that the fuels available at EU airports will have at least 2025% "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF) in 2, then 6% in 2030, with a gradual increase to 70% by 2050.

"Sustainable fuels" include synthetic fuels (made from hydrogen and CO2), renewable hydrogen, waste gas-based jet fuels and plastic waste, or biofuels from agricultural residues, algae, biomass, or used cooking oil. The 2050 target falls short of what MEPs demanded (85%), but exceeds the European Commission's initial proposal (63%) taken up by member states.

A minimum share of 1.2% synthetic fuels in the kerosene supplied

This law alone should reduce CO2 emissions from European air transport by around two-thirds by 2050 compared to the scenario where no action is taken, the Commission estimates. Aviation accounts for around 4% of European greenhouse gas emissions.

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"The agreement provides immediate certainty to companies and producers of 'sustainable fuels'", and avoids the "fragmentation" of the European market, welcomes the federation Airlines for Europe (A4E), according to which States must strengthen the production of SAF and "security of supply". The agreement provides for a minimum share of 1.2% of synthetic fuels in the kerosene supplied by European airports in 2030-2031, well above what was proposed by the Commission and the States (0.7%). This share will reach 2% in 2032-2034, then 5% in 2035, before reaching 35% in 2050.

Synthetic fuels are the only ones "whose use can be increased in a sustainable way," said Matteo Mirolo of the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). The agreement is expected to boost their production, "providing companies with certainty that this 'e-kerosene' will become cheaper and widely available". "Low-carbon synthetic fuels" are included, i.e. made with electricity derived not only from renewable energies but also from nuclear (therefore decarbonised), a provision supported in particular by the France in many European climate texts.

Limiting excessive fuel shipments

The text also provides that most of the kerosene supply for flights departing from the EU is made at European airports, in order to limit emissions from excessive fuel cargo and prevent companies from circumventing the rules by feeding from outside the EU. The agreement excludes biofuels from food crops or palm oil by-products, but not those from cooking oil, "whose supply is limited in Europe, at the risk of creating shortages in other industries" that could choose less green alternatives, worries T&E.

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Finally, the agreement opens the door to a future consideration of emissions other than CO2 (sulphur...), which represent two-thirds of the climate impact of aviation. Another text of the European climate plan, definitively adopted on Tuesday, will make airlines pay for the CO2 emissions of their intra-European flights, with the gradual disappearance of the free allowances they enjoyed until now, but with an incentive mechanism in case of use of sustainable fuels.