July 8, 2022
BY Erin Krueger
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.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
As of July 2025, California’s SCFS requires renewable fuel producers using specified source feedstocks to secure attestation letters reaching back to the point of origin. This marks a significant shift in compliance expectations.
The public comment period on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2027 and 2027 RFS RVOs and revise RFS regulations closed Aug. 8. Biofuel groups have largely expressed support for the proposal but also outlined several ways to improve the rulemaking.
The U.S. renewable fuels industry on Aug. 8 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Federal lawmakers also marked the occasion with resolutions introduced in the House and Senate earlier this month.
Iowa farmers have a new market opportunity for their 2025 soybean crop. Landus is expanding its Clean Fuel Regulation initiative, made possible by recent policy changes expected to increase Canada's demand for liquid biofuel.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., on July 31 announced the introduction of the Ag BIO Act. The legislation aims to update the USDA’s loan guarantee program to better support biorefining projects.