The European Parliament has adopted the ReFuel EU Aviation Regulation and Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED III), smoothing the way to a more sustainable aviation industry.

As part of the new regulations, 2% of fuel made available at EU airports must be SAF by 2025, while this increases to 6% in 2030, to 20% in 2035 and to 70% in 2050.

Major energy provider Neste said it welcomed the “enhanced ambition these two pieces of climate and energy legislation set out”. Both will now enter into force in the coming weeks. The EU RED III will later be incorporated into law in EU member states, while the ReFuel EU Aviation Regulation will be directly applicable across the EU.

Renewable targets

“As a leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, Neste particularly supports targets for the transport sector and the recognition of renewable liquid fuels as a way of delivering immediate emission reductions,” said Neste’s Minna Aila, executive vice president of sustainability and corporate affairs.

As well as increasing emission reduction targets, both pieces of legislation create demand certainty, which is needed to attract investments towards the production of renewable fuels, while remaining consistent on the eligibility of raw materials permitted in sustainable biofuels.

“Demand for renewable energy is only set to grow as we strive to meet our climate goals. We are better equipped to meet this demand if we have consistency in our legislation. Consistency allows stakeholders across the value chain to invest in the creation and provision of greater volumes of renewable products over a longer term and continue research and development in this field,” said Aila.
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