General Meeting European Parliament This Wednesday gave the green light to the implementation of the new rules. use of at least 70% ecological fuels to aircraft operating airports European Union The 2050 horizon is a turning point where they must load their tanks with at least 2% sustainable fuel by 2025.
The new rules, agreed by the European Parliament and Twenty-Seven negotiators last April, green fuels‘ The European Commission proposed (65%) as the beginning of the negotiations, but it cannot reach the 85% that the European Parliament members demanded during the negotiations.
Consensus-based modulation starts at 2% in 2025, with increments every five years, so that the minimum target is 6% ‘green’ fuels in 2030, 20% in 2035; 34% in 2040 and 42% in 2045; Until it reaches 70% in 2050.
The agreement, whose final acceptance requires only the formal approval of the Twenty-Seven, was approved this Wednesday. Support of 518 MPs, 97 against and 8 abstentions— Effective January 1, 2024, with some provisions postponed to January 1, 2025.
Inside definition of sustainable fuel For aviation, this includes both synthetic fuels and biofuels derived from agricultural or forestry waste, algae, organic waste, or used cooking oils.
In the case of synthetics, the agreement specifies the specific proportion of the mixture; for example, for e-kerosene, this rate is set at 1.2% in 2030; 2% in 2032; 5% in 2035 and gradually up to 35% in 2050.
They will also be included upon the proposal of the MPs recycled fuels It is produced from gases emitted during waste processing or obtained from plastic waste.
Additionally, fuels derived from food crops and feed crops or derived from palm oil and soybeans are excluded as they do not meet the sustainability criteria set by the EU.
The new legislation is part of a wider climate package that includes the EU’s environmental targets for the coming decades. European ‘green’ stamp For flights after 2025, it is intended that airlines will be able to accredit their carbon footprint per passenger and estimated CO2 emissions per kilometre, allowing passengers to compare which are the most sustainable options to complete their route.
“This is a big step decarbonization in aviation“, the European Parliament rapporteur congratulated Ciudadanos MP José Ramón Bauzá, who also called on national governments to support the sector to “guarantee the profitable expansion of sustainable aviation fuels across Europe”.
Spanish airlines “satisfied”
Airlines Association (ALA) showed itself”“Satisfied with the new European regulation” Regarding the SAF, he took the opportunity to request incentives from the Spanish Government to encourage the use of the SAF.
According to the president of the association, Javier Gándara, A “decisive” commitment from the government for this solution. “We are facing a significant country opportunity that goes beyond the airline industry but requires public assistance,” the executive said, reminding that other countries such as France or the United States have already offered millions of dollars in aid.
Repsol says this “Pioneer in sustainable fuel production” Spain plays a “key role” in moving towards more sustainable mobility in its air sector.
In this sense, the company claims that different strategic agreements have been signed with the alliance with Iberia from 2021, allowing it to carry out, among others, the first national and long-haul flight in Spain with biofuel produced from waste. . .
Last year, an agreement was reached with the Air and Space Army, and for the first time the Águila Patrol used a renewable fuel produced by Repsol in the Columbus Day air parade.
Likewise, in 2023, it signed a cooperation agreement with Gestair and the Irish airline Ryanair, which will provide access to a maximum of 155,000 tons of SAF between 2025-2030.
Also this year repsol will launch the first facility dedicated solely to biofuel production Advanced facilities in Cartagena, Spain, have the capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes per year of advanced biofuels such as biodiesel, biojet, bionaphtha and biopropane, which can be used in planes, ships, trucks or cars.