July 8, 2022
BY Erin Voegele
The European Parliament on July 7 voted 334 to 95 to adopt draft rules for the ReFuelEU initiative, which aims to require sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to account for at least 85 percent of EU aviation fuel by 2050. In late June, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Transport and Tourism Committee voted 25 to six in favor of adopting a draft negotiating mandate on the ReFuelEU aviation rules. With the full Parliament vote now complete, negotiations can now begin with member states regarding final legislation to implement the program.
The ReFuelEU aviation initiative is part of the EU’s Fit for 55 in 2030 package, which is the EU’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in line with the European Climate Law.
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The draft rules adopted on July 7 would require 2 percent SAF use in 2025, increasing to 37 percent in 2040 and 85 percent in 2050. The mandate is to take into account the potential of electricity and hydrogen in the overall fuel mix.
Under the draft rules, SAF is defined to include synthetic fuels and certain biofuels produced from agricultural or forestry residues, algae, bio-waste or used cooking oil. The definition also incldues recycled carbon fuels produced from waste processing gas and exhaust gas deriving from production process in industrial installations. The definition does not include fuels made from feed- and food-based crops, such as palm oil or soy-derived materials, which the MEPs said do not align with proposed sustainability criteria.
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The Michigan Advanced Biofuels Coalition and Green Marine are partnering to accelerating adoption of sustainable biofuels to improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions in Michigan and across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Iowa, on April 10 reintroduced legislation to extend the 45Z clean fuel production credit and limit eligibility for the credit to renewable fuels made from domestically sourced feedstocks.
Representatives of the U.S. biofuels industry on April 10 submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Treasury and IRFS providing recommendations on how to best implement upcoming 45Z clean fuel production credit regulations.
Lawmakers in Wisconsin on April 3 announced their intent to introduce legislation that would create a $1.50 per gallon production tax credit for SAF. The bill is currently circulating for co-sponsorship support and will be formally introduced soon.
A group of 16 senators, led by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on April 8 sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urging the agency to increase RVO and account for SREs in the agency’s upcoming RFS rulemaking.