The European Council has just adopted a new regulation on the “ReFuelEU Aviation” initiative. By using more renewable and low-carbon fuels, the aviation sector will reduce its carbon footprint and create a level playing field for sustainable air transport in the EU.
C“The new provisions will provide aircraft operators and aviation fuel suppliers in Europe with legal certainty,” the EU Council said in a statement. With this kick-start to the large-scale production of sustainable aviation fuels, the EU aviation sector will soon become much greener.
Objectives of the new legislation
The main objective of the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative, which is a key element of the EU’s Fit for 55 package, is to increase both the demand for and supply of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), whose CO emissions2 are lower than those of fossil kerosene, while ensuring a level playing field across the EU air transport market.
The new law aims to put air transport on track to meet the EU’s climate targets for 2030 and 2050, by addressing what is currently holding back the development of CDAs, which are one of the main short- and medium-term levers for decarbonising aviation: on the one hand, the low supply and on the other hand, the level of their prices, which are significantly higher than those of fossil fuels.
Provisions of the new regulation
The new regulation includes the following provisions:
1. The obligation for aviation fuel suppliers to ensure that all fuel made available to aircraft operators at Union airports contains a minimum share of CDA from 2025 and, from 2030, a minimum share of synthetic fuelsthese shares gradually increasing until 2050. Fuel suppliers will have to integrate 2% of CDA in 2025, 6% in 2030 and 70% in 2050. On the other hand, from 2030, 1.2% of fuels will have to be synthetic fuels, and this share will have to be increased to 35% in 2050.
2. The obligation for aircraft operators to ensure that the annual quantity of aviation fuel loaded into a given Union airport represents at least 90 % of the annual quantity of aviation fuel required, in order to avoid the practice of suremportwhich results in higher emissions due to the extra weight.
3. Inclusion among the sustainable aviation fuels and synthetic fuels for aviation eligible the following fuels: certified biofuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin (including renewable hydrogen) and aviation fuels based on recycled carbon that meet the sustainability and emission reduction criteria of the renewable energy directive (RED), up to a maximum of 70%, with the exception of biofuels produced from crops intended for human or animal consumption, as well as Low carbon aviation fuels (including low-carbon hydrogen), which can be used to achieve the minimum shares in the relevant part of the regulation.
4. Rules relating to competent authoritiesto be designated by Member States to enforce this Regulation, and the rules on fines.
5. Creation of a labeling system of the Union concerning the environmental performance of aircraft operators using CDAs, which will help consumersators to make informed choices and will promote greener flights.
6. The data gathering and the reporting obligations on aviation fuel suppliers and aircraft operators, allowing to monitor the effects of the regulation on the competitiveness of EU operators and platforms.
Following today’s formal adoption by the Council, the new regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming weeks, and will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication. It shall apply from 1 January 2024. However, Articles 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 shall apply from 1is January 2025. The ReFuelEU Aviation initiative is part of the Fit for 55 package. Presented by the European Commission on 14 July 2021, this package allows the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
