After more than a year of work, the liberal MEP José Ramón Bauzá boasts of having carried out one of the measures that will change aviation worldwide as rapporteur of the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative, which achieved almost unanimous support from the European Parliament to promote the use of sustainable fuels in the aviation sector (SAF). To achieve this, it was necessary to reach an agreement between the European Commission, the European Council and practically all of the political groups that make up the European Parliament, with intense work to reach an unusual consensus in the community institution.
The SAF is called to be the almost definitive solution to decarbonize the airline sector, by contemplating its use in airplanes that take off from any European airport starting in 2025. A quarter of a century later, in 2050, 70% of its deposits They will have to be filled with this new kerosene cheese that is produced with plant waste, pruning remains or even olive pits, but which still has many challenges ahead to become a reality. The MEP attends to La Información in the European Parliament once the approval of the initiative has been achieved.
Q: Is the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 feasible?
A: All the necessary steps are being taken to make this happen, but the involvement of all the sectors involved will be necessary, because one issue is the desire of the politician and another is the technological reality. It depends on many factors, many circumstances and many unforeseen events.
Q: How do you explain to the average citizen that the EU is very demanding with its climate policies, but these are not applied in other polluting countries like the US. China?
A: Europe is a small region in the world, a very small piece in a big puzzle. Our decisions may involve the movement of other pieces, but we do not have all the gears. If we do not raise awareness and involve them, what we do will be crumbs, although someone has to make the changes. It is very important to define what our objectives are, but even more important is to define the strategies, we cannot be left alone or lose the competitiveness of our companies.
All planes taking off from the EU must use SAF
Q: The directive only applies to airports and EU countries, which could give the United Kingdom a certain competitive advantage. Can these differences lead to your airlines gaining competitiveness compared to community airlines?
A: Airlines and countries operating on EU territory will have to comply with the regulations. A percentage of its operations, all those that take off from European airports, will have to comply with the standard so that it does not have a competitive disadvantage compared to the rest of the airlines. In addition, the regulations contemplate a period of flexibility, there are 10 years to adapt to it.
Q: The directive contemplates financial instruments to develop the SAF. Have they been defined?
A: Today it is very expensive because there is very little production and there was no legal certainty as to what is going to happen. When the rule comes into force, producers will begin to produce progressively, so that we will have more and more quantities at more competitive prices. In addition, 20,000 million euros will be allocated to compensate it for emission bonds. But The Objective Is To Get The Involvement Of Airlines, Airports And States So That They Fiscally Compensate Everything ThatSto Qua The More It Is Used, The Less Kerosene Will Be Used And The Less Emissions Offset Bonds Will Be Purchased. We propose to encourage uses, not penalize them.
The SAF will increase the price of plane tickets
Q: Airlines admit that sustainable fuel is very expensive. Will it affect the price of the final ticket?
A: In the short term yes, don’t fool yourself. But the member states have to come in to encourage use and compensate the price. If not, one of the biggest losers will be the tourism sector. At all times we have asked to have compensation mechanisms so that the final price of the user’s ticket does not increase. Over time it will be cheaper. That is where the States have to come in, to avoid increases to the end user, otherwise the companies will have a direct impact on the tourist.
“Spain has companies and renewables to start production, but it needs political will”
Q: Europe’s aspiration is to lead the SAF market, but the fuel market is controlled by the US and OPEC countries. Will we get to see it?
A: It is not only feasible, it is possible and Spain should be one of them. If you had a serious, responsible government linked to achieving sustainability in the airline sector, it should be the one that promotes these transition processes. Spain has all the capabilities and opportunities to lead production in Europe, but it is time to fill the Government’s projects with effective measures. It only depends on political will.
Q: Do you think that our country will be able to provide national resources for the development of this industry?
A: If there were a true relationship between the Government and the companies that lead the sector, they should already be prepared so that, when the regulations come into force, they will be put into action. Spain has enough companies, raw materials and renewable energies to start production, but it needs political will to generate tax incentives, make Next Generation available to the productive sector and for them to start producing. Every minute we waste doing it, there will be another country that is doing it.
Q: Are the targets set for the time needed to scale SAF production realistic?
A: The starting objectives set by the Council were much further from what we have achieved. It has been a challenge and I, as a speaker, feel very proud. They are realistic objectives, but they could be reduced over time, depending on whether their production is encouraged. But that depends on each state, there will be countries that are willing to promote its use and others will not be so interested. I am very concerned about what Spain does, because there is no country with more advantages to lead this production. It would be nonsense if he didn’t do it.
Bauzá, in the presentation of the initiative in the European Parliament
European Parliament
Q: Does the rule contemplate taxing flights that do not use SAF?
A: Airlines have to ensure the use of a certain percentage of their total number of operations, the so-called “book and claim”, which encourages companies to buy massively at those points where fuel is cheaper to complete their flights. goals. Airlines are not asked to have a percentage of use at each airport, but at a global level, and this is supervised with certificates endorsed by European institutions. This encourages use, stimulates consumption in the areas where it is most interesting and ensures that those that are not interesting compete to be so, generating a dynamic of competition.
Q: The first big challenge is just around the corner, 2025. Planes must use 2% biofuels. Is that production guaranteed?
A: There are many possibilities that it will be fulfilled, but if it is not fulfilled, there is a compensation table for the next two years. It is a flexibility mechanism that has allowed all parties involved to be satisfied, to the point of believing that it is the best regulation to truly decarbonize the sector. The other measures are dissuasive: the cheese tax or the purchase of rights do not stop emissions, only the SAF reduces emissions.
Q: What is your feeling after getting this thing done?
A: It is the last dossier of the Fit for 55 legislative package, which indicates the difficulty of the negotiation and the time that has been necessary to reach this agreement. I leave frankly satisfied because we have achieved the support of all political parties, being a very complicated sector that has been criminalized by some tourism-phobic political parties and governments. I think it is a very good text, it lays the foundations to guarantee the sustainability of the airline sector. By legislating and regulating the SAF in the airline sector we ensure that the tourism industry is maintained. Now it only depends on the will of the member states on how to apply it, but Spain is called to lead production in Europe and around the world.
