Abstract:

Despite years of sustained interest in sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), the industry has been slow to expand in the face of strong economic barriers to deployment. The European Commission’s 2020 ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative aims to boost the production and supply of SAFs, and it is critical that policies guide investment and development toward technologies that are capable of delivering long-term decarbonization. This briefing paper explores the policy options available to increase SAF deployment in the EU and discusses their benefits and drawbacks. Based on the assessment of policy options, the following recommendations can be drawn from the analysis: Advanced SAFs will require targeted policy support; Develop policy targets based on a realistic assessment of feedstock availability and technology deployment; SAF multipliers may not be effective at driving new advanced-fuel production; Direct financial support may be necessary in the early stages of SAF policy.