California Congresswoman introduces Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act

In Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act, legislation to incentivize the production of sustainable aviation fuel and help the aviation sector reduce carbon emissions.

“As a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, I know the importance of, and challenges to, decarbonizing the aviation industry,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “Aviation alone contributes 9% to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and is therefore a critical target toward achieving our climate goals. Sustainable aviation fuel will go a long way to reducing aviation sector greenhouse gas emissions but it needs a focused federal response to make it a reality.”

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act includes a number of different policy options that Congress should consider that address the problem from different directions. It would create a new blender’s tax credit for SAF, linked to carbon reductions. It would authorize $1 billion in federal funding for U.S. projects that produce, transport, blend, or store SAF. It would authorize $175 million in research funding to push the limits of existing SAF technology. It would require the EPA to establish an aviation-only Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) similar to California’s successful transportation-wide LCFS.