New British SAF report highlights consequences of SAF legislation

A new British Department for Transport document that highlighted policy scenarios for the UK’s 2025 sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) law has warned that unless a cap is placed on green jet fuel, carbon emissions may rise in other transport sectors.
In a Euractiv piece, it highlighted in the report that SAF made from used cooking oil and animal fats should be restricted on environmental grounds, raising questions over whether the EU will follow suit.
Fuels derived from used cooking oil and animal fats are commonly referred to as Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA).
“The purpose of a HEFA cap is to ensure that introducing a SAF mandate does not divert feedstock away from existing uses or raise concerns over sustainability by increasing demand for certain feedstocks,” the consultation document said.
“In particular, we want to ensure that HEFA use in aviation does not lead to diversion of feedstocks that are still required for the decarbonisation of difficult-to-decarbonise road transport vehicles.”
Various policy options are put forward in the document, ranging from an outright ban to a limit on volume.
Unlike the UK approach, no limit was included in the European Commission’s SAF proposal, leading to concerns that aviation will monopolise waste biofuels, potentially increasing the amount of fossil fuels in the road and maritime sectors.
Lawmakers from the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers representing the bloc’s 27 member states are expected to finalise negotiations on the EU’s SAF law, known as ReFuelEU Aviation, on 25 April.
While MEPs initially floated a 0.6% cap on the contribution of used cooking oil and animal tallow for SAFs, this limit did not make it into the Parliament’s final negotiating position.
However, countries with sizable maritime industries are expected to seek a restriction.