10 December 2021: ERA has published its position on the relevant Fit for 55 files: the EU ETS revision for aviation, the ReFuel EU Aviation initiative and the Energy Taxation Directive. You can find our position in the document attached.

22 July 2021: ERA has sent a letter to the Slovenian Presidency and the Presidents of the Renew Europe and S&D groups following concerns on the allocation of the files. We urged the Presidency and Presidents of the groups to allocate the files relevant to the aviation sector (for example, EU ETS and CORSIA) to the experts that have already previously dealt with them: the AVIA Working Party and the TRAN Committee.

Please also note that the public consultation will close on 14 September. We will be in contact with members at the end of August to gather feedback. Feel free to send your comments earlier if you wish to martina.dipalma@eraa.org [1]

Update 15 July 2021: The following measures are relevant for the aviation sector:

Revision of the EU ETS for aviation:

• The EC proposed a phasing out of the free allowances (FA) for aviation with the aim to stop FA by the end of 2026.
• The EC will also apply CORSIA to international flights.

Energy Taxation Directive:

• Fuel in the aviation industry will no longer be fully exempt from the ETD for intra-EU flights.
• Over a period of ten years, the minimum tax rates for these fuels will gradually increase - 10 years after the introduction of the ETD, kerosene would be taxed at least €10.75/GJ EU-wide.
• SAF, on the other hand, will benefit from a minimum rate of zero to ensure their uptake.
• NB requires unanimity from all EU MS.

ReFuel EU Aviation:

• Obligation on fuel suppliers to blend increasing levels of SAF and ensure availability at EU airports in order for all airlines to uplift SAF
• Share of SAF requirements
  • Starting at 2% from 2025 and increasing every 5 years:
  • By 2030 - 5% share of SAF is required
  • By 2035 - 20%
  • By 2040 - 38%
  • By 2050 - 63%

• In addition, the EC is mandating a minimum share of synthetic fuels
  • By 2030 - 0.7%
  • By 2050 - 28%

You can find all the relevant EU documents on the announcement here:

• EC PR: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_3541 [2]
• Ff55 communication: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/chapeau_communication.pdf [3]
• Fact sheets: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/delivering-european-green-deal_en [4]
• Proposal texts: https://t.co/XHecyR2wCm?amp=1 [5]

Update 14 July 2021: The European Commission has today announced an ambitious package of climate change legislation, Fit for 55. A set of policies aimed at transforming the European economy and achieve the EU’s climate goal of 55% GHG reduction by 2030, the first step to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The proposals relevant for ERA members are:

• The Energy Taxation Directive (ETD);
• The revision of the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) and EU ETS for aviation, including the implementation of CORSIA;
• The ReFuel EU Aviation initiative aimed at boosting the production and uptake of SAF in Europe; and
• The Renewable Energy Directive (RED), on biofuel sustainability criteria relevant for the ReFuel EU initiative.
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19 May 2021: Fit for 55 package and ReFuel EU further delayed. The European Commission has published an updated timeline for the publication of the Fit for 55 and ReFuel EU proposals, which are now expected to be published on 14 July 2021.

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