RefuelEU: Renew Europe welcomes ambitious and credible legislation to decarbonise air transport
Author: Yannick Laude
Date:
Renew Europe welcomes the adoption today by the European Parliament, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, of the RefuelEU regulation on sustainable fuels for air transport. This legislation aims to promote the progressive use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) leading to aviation in the EU using at least 70% clean fuels in 2050. This text closes the long list of legislation, adopted under this mandate, which will allow the transport sector, in all its modalities, to actively contribute to the carbon neutrality objective decided by the EU.
José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ (Ciudadanos, Spain), rapporteur for ReFuelEU aviation, said:”
Renew Europe Group has been crucial in defending the development and the ambitious level of production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels across the EU while creating a level playing field through wide harmonised rules and preserving the EU air connectivity. With ReFuelEU Aviation in place, the decarbonisation of aviation is nearer. It is time now for EU governments to implement the new rules and support to the industry by ensuring the cost-effective deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel across Europe. The EU must be ready to take the lead globally in the use of SAF”.
Priority is given to synthetic fuels, the increase in power of which will begin in 2025, to reach 35% in 2050, an ambition much higher than that of the initial proposal from the European Commission. Renew Europe played an active role in interinstitutional negotiations to extend the concept of clean fuels to low-carbon fuels, such as green hydrogen.
Renew Europe also sought to obtain an obligation for suppliers to make these sustainable fuels available in a much wider number of airports than foreseen from the original proposal, as well as to set targets for use by airlines. At least, “anti-tankering” provisions are planned to prevent planes from filling their tanks outside the territory of the Union to avoid the obligations provided for by the text.
