The plenary session of the European Parliament has validated this Wednesday the regulations that will force airlines flying in Europe to use a certain percentage of sustainable fuel (SAF) from 2025 to reduce their polluting emissions. New rules that the companies say they support, but that require a boost in the production of this fuel to be applied.
SAF is currently scarce and expensive, in 2019 it barely represented 0.1% of all aviation fuel, and its price is between three and six times higher than conventional fuel, highlighted ALA, the association that brings together the majority of airlines operating in Spain.
According to the standard – the formal approval of the Member States is lacking for its definitive adoption – companies must use 2% of SAF in 2025 with increases every five years until reaching 70% in 2050. To achieve these objectives, The president of ALA, Javier Gándara, considered it “necessary” for the Government to allocate incentives that favor the production of SAF on a scale in Spain.
“A decisive commitment from the Government to this solution is necessary. It should promote its development with aid to producers,” he added. Countries like France or the United States are already favoring this type of industry. The airline Vueling, of the IAG group, asked the Generalitat last week to facilitate the production of SAF in Catalonia at an event at Foment del Treball.
The airline, the main operator in El Prat, insisted yesterday that it supports the introduction of mandates to supply sustainable fuel “as long as they are complemented by production incentive programs.” For this, he continued, “public-private collaboration” is necessary.
Aviation is responsible for around 3% of global CO2 emissions and the use of SAF allows companies to reduce between 80% and 100% of polluting gases. There are two types of SAF, organic, produced from vegetable oils, animal fats, biomass or other waste, and synthetic, generated from the capture of CO2 through the use of green hydrogen. For companies, it has the advantage that its use can be immediate and does not require changing current aircraft.
