Luxembourg and seven other European countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden) issued on Monday a joint statement on Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
The countries in question maintained that, despite the current pandemic and its unprecedented impacts on the aviation industry, it is of the utmost importance that economic recovery does not lead to backsliding in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. They added that recovery should go hand in hand with accelerating the environmental transition of the industry in order to achieve Europe's climate goals and to make aviation more resilient and future-proof.
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will have a significant role in reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation sector in the coming decades. Technologically, drop-in use of SAF through blending is already possible. The current infrastructure at airport level is deemed sufficient so that airlines are not confronted with significant changes to their operations and a blending mandate can be implemented quickly. The above-mentioned EU Member States emphasised their view that the use of SAF is one of the most achievable and effective pathways to reduce the climate effects of the aviation sector in the short term.
The eight countries thus expressed their support for the aim of the European Commission to boost the supply and demand for SAF in the EU so as to create favourable conditions in order to ramp up the production and deployment of SAF based on robust sustainability criteria. They added that whilst the potential of synthetic aviation fuels and advanced sustainable biofuels is clear, the challenge remains to make use of the current momentum by providing for a clear long-term perspective so as to contribute to a scalable SAF marketplace. The countries in question maintained that a European blending mandate for SAF could achieve this.
The eight European countries thus called upon the European Commission to further stimulate and incentivise the uptake of SAF, including synthetic fuels, through funding programmes under the existing financial framework. They also welcomed the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative as a starting point for further EU coordination so as to ensure an integral and effective long-term agenda on sustainable aviation.
The joint statement was signed by the Transport Ministers of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and Luxembourg, the Ministers of Infrastructure of the Netherlands and Sweden and the Secretary of State for Transport of Spain.
