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Parliament backs law to boost green aviation fuels in EU flights

(EurActiv, 14 Sep 2023) The European Parliament gave the green light on Wednesday (13 September) to new rules that will increase the quantity of sustainable jet fuel in flights departing from EU airports, marking a major step towards reducing emissions from the notoriously carbon-intensive transport mode.

MEPs voted overwhelmingly in support of the law at a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, with 518 votes in favour, 97 votes against and eight abstentions.

Under the new rules, a steadily increasing amount of green jet fuel must be blended with kerosene, with the quantity required rising every 5 years. The legal obligation will start at 2% in 2025, growing to 20% in 2035 and reaching 70% in 2050. 

All flights departing from an EU airport will be obliged to refuel using a sustainable aviation fuel and kerosene blend, regardless of whether their destination is inside or outside of the bloc.

Rapporteur José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, a Spanish lawmaker with the centrist Renew group, hailed the passage of the law as a “tremendous step towards the decarbonisation of aviation”. 

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are considered the most effective way to reduce emissions from aviation, as clean technologies such as hydrogen-powered and electric jets are not yet commercially mature.

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EurActiv, 14 Sep 2023: Parliament backs law to boost green aviation fuels in EU flights