Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (Infrastructure and Water Management) wants the Netherlands to be a pioneer in Europe to reduce CO2 emissions from aviation. In three years' time, aircraft in Europe will be obliged to fly partly on sustainable fuel. The minister is taking the lead in introducing the European admixture obligation for sustainable aviation fuels. The blending obligation can reduce aviation emissions in the short term and boost the development and production of alternative aviation fuels.
Van Nieuwenhuizen urges other European countries to join the Netherlands in order to achieve the transition from fossil kerosene to sustainable aviation fuel. Together with a number of Member States, it wants to stimulate the development of sustainable fuels for aircraft in a group of frontrunners. Research that the minister commissioned shows that adding sustainable fuel to kerosene is a good way to make aviation more sustainable.
Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen: “With sustainable aviation fuel we can take major steps for cleaner aviation. We need it to reduce emissions in the short term. With compulsory mixing, we can boost the production of green fuels, such as biokerosene and synthetic kerosene. ”
Various initiatives for the production of sustainable fuel for aviation are underway in our country. For example, the first European factory for sustainable biokerosene is being built in Delfzijl and Schiphol and other market parties are working on a demonstration factory to also produce synthetic kerosene. Van Nieuwenhuizen supports this initiative and is looking into possibilities to support further development financially.
The minister aims to start the European admixture obligation within three years. At the invitation of the Netherlands in Brussels, representatives of the European member states will meet at the beginning of this month to share developments in the field of sustainable aviation fuel. If the European obligation is not feasible in time, Van Nieuwenhuizen is committed to introducing a national obligation by 2023 to stimulate the use and production of these fuels. This means that from that moment on, aircraft in the Netherlands can only refuel at Dutch airports with kerosene mixed with sustainable aviation fuel.
With the European obligation, Van Nieuwenhuizen is working on the climate targets for aviation. CO2 emissions from international aviation must be halved by 2050 compared to 2005. In the Draft Sustainable Aviation Agreement, the minister agreed that by 2030, 14% of the aviation fuel in the Netherlands will be sustainable and by 2050 the full fossil fuel demand. of aviation is replaced by sustainable alternatives.
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