Europe's aviation sector hit - and may well have surpassed - a 2% mandate for green jet fuel use in 2025, a regulatory official and a source told Reuters, bolstering airlines' green credentials as the region seeks to cut reliance on hydrocarbons.
The achievement, previously unreported and due to be confirmed in a report later this year, marks a sharp turnaround from a year earlier when uptake was just 0.6%. Airlines had repeatedly warned that targets would be missed.
"We believe we will be at or even above the 2% in 2025," Florian Guillermet, Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which monitors implementation of the targets, told Reuters in an interview in Cologne.
EASA will publish official data on last year's sustainable jet fuel (SAF) use in Europe after the summer. Jet fuel use has been thrust further into the spotlight as the Iran war lifts oil prices and disrupts supplies.
A senior European Union official, who asked not to be named, separately said the region had likely exceeded the threshold.
"We will end at above 2% in Europe for 2025. We see a clear supply response to the mandate," the person said.
The EU required 2% of fuel made available at regional airports to be SAF in 2025, rising to 6% in 2030. Synthetic SAF (eSAF) must account for 1.2% of the total from 2030, rising to 5% in 2035.
Airlines for Europe (A4E) - whose members include Ryanair, Lufthansa and British Airways-owner IAG has urged regulators to scale back the eSAF requirement, arguing that supply is limited and costs are high.
The European Commission has since said it has no intention of rolling back the eSAF mandate, though it acknowledges more must be done to make the fuel affordable and accessible.
"The mandate is a mandate, so it is in place. Personally, I don't see any reason why it should change," Guillermet said, echoing comments from the EU transport commissioner last week.
The EU official agreed: "It is very important to stick to the mandates. We have proven so far that we were right."
Kazakhstan has concluded its first election to the new unicameral Kurultai, with turnout reaching 74.19 per cent, as vote counting begins following...
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo as health authoriti...
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed...
Iran on Saturday denounced U.S. plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic's economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China.
A large-scale drone attack has hit Russia's Samara region, damaging facilities and disrupting operations at an Ozon logistics complex, according to regional authorities and the company.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for a wartime election, arguing that holding a vote while Russia's full-scale invasion continues would divide the country and undermine national unity.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was not ready to make what he called the "right deal" with Washington as tensions persisted over the war and the Strait of Hormuz.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 22nd of August, covering the latest developments.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
Extreme heat and historically low river levels are forcing nuclear power plants across Southeast Europe to reduce production, increasing pressure on already stretched electricity supplies and prompting governments to call for lower consumption.
Flash floods in Gansu Province in China's northwest last week killed 25 people and injured 23 more, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, raising earlier death tolls.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment