Airlines have been told that biofuel usage will be counted as "zero-emission" fuels in their mandatory annual green house gas emission reports, as requested by the European Commission, this week.

 

The EC outlined its plans for the verification and monitoring of greenhouse gases in a set of draft EU regulations that cover reporting best practice for European industries covered by the EU's flagship emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS). EU member states and the European Parliament must approve the draft texts before they can become law.

Among these is a requirement for airlines to list "the amount of biomass used as a fuel," broken down on a yearly basis. The airlines' biofuel consumption should come "as an annex to the annual emission report," the draft describes.

Isaac Valero Ladron, European Commission spokesperson for climate change issues, told EurActiv that the aim is to provide incentives for airlines to use more biofuels, assuming that those have "a zero-emissions factor": "Under the EU ETS we provide a financial incentive for the use of biofuels in aviation, as use of biofuels has a zero-emissions factor, which means that no allowances need to be surrendered," he commented.

"This means that biofuels have a subsidy equivalent to the prevailing carbon price," he explained, describing the scheme as "a cost-effective incentive as the subsidy for biofuels is equivalent to the cost of reducing emissions in other sectors."

The publication of these draft texts comes amidst concerns over the potential negative effect of biomass cultivation and its effect on the environment. However, the Commission indicates that the European aviation carbon-reduction scheme will only take into account biofuels that respect EU-certified sustainability schemes.

 

Image source: http://www.flights.co.uk/articles/are-lufthansa-s-biofuel-flights-the-answer-for-a-greener-future.html