US airlines ally with farmers to seek subsidies for corn as jet fuel
Jets cross the sky 30,000 feet above millions of acres of corn blanketing the US heartland. As airlines face pressure to cut emissions, they have joined forces with farmers to lobby in Washington so that corn helps power those planes. Their push has encountered resistance from environmental groups that say refining corn into biofuels has minimal benefits for earth’s climate. New tax rules that could make or break corn ethanol’s prospects as a so-called sustainable aviation fuel may be released as soon as next month. Airlines have pledged net zero emissions by 2050. But their plan hinges on sustainable aviation fuel that is in scarce supply, made mainly from cooking oil or animal fats. The US biofuels industry, the world’s largest, was supercharged by a 2007 law that forced blending increasing amounts of ethanol into petrol. The industry now faces the threat of declining demand, however, as more battery-powered cars arrive on American roads. With airlines in need of a product and biofuel refiners looking for a new market, they have allied to include ethanol in the plane fuel mix. Their lobbying campaign is centred on tax credits for aviation fuel established in the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law signed by President Joe Biden a year ago. The credits are worth $1.25 a gallon for fuels that reduce emissions by at least 50% compared with jet fuel, and up to $1.75 per gallon for further reductions. Carriers such as United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have joined farm groups, US biofuel refinery owners such as Archer Daniels Midland and Green Plains, and international oil companies including BP and Shell, to push federal tax officials to embrace an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions that would make ethanol eligible for more generous tax credits. The IATA estimates airlines will globally need 450bn litres (119b gallons) of sustainable fuel a year to meet its mid-century carbon goals, but last year refiners made about 300m litres.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-14/general/us-airlines-ally-with-farmers-to-seek-subsidies-for-corn-as-jet-fuel
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US airlines ally with farmers to seek subsidies for corn as jet fuel
Jets cross the sky 30,000 feet above millions of acres of corn blanketing the US heartland. As airlines face pressure to cut emissions, they have joined forces with farmers to lobby in Washington so that corn helps power those planes. Their push has encountered resistance from environmental groups that say refining corn into biofuels has minimal benefits for earth’s climate. New tax rules that could make or break corn ethanol’s prospects as a so-called sustainable aviation fuel may be released as soon as next month. Airlines have pledged net zero emissions by 2050. But their plan hinges on sustainable aviation fuel that is in scarce supply, made mainly from cooking oil or animal fats. The US biofuels industry, the world’s largest, was supercharged by a 2007 law that forced blending increasing amounts of ethanol into petrol. The industry now faces the threat of declining demand, however, as more battery-powered cars arrive on American roads. With airlines in need of a product and biofuel refiners looking for a new market, they have allied to include ethanol in the plane fuel mix. Their lobbying campaign is centred on tax credits for aviation fuel established in the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law signed by President Joe Biden a year ago. The credits are worth $1.25 a gallon for fuels that reduce emissions by at least 50% compared with jet fuel, and up to $1.75 per gallon for further reductions. Carriers such as United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have joined farm groups, US biofuel refinery owners such as Archer Daniels Midland and Green Plains, and international oil companies including BP and Shell, to push federal tax officials to embrace an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions that would make ethanol eligible for more generous tax credits. The IATA estimates airlines will globally need 450bn litres (119b gallons) of sustainable fuel a year to meet its mid-century carbon goals, but last year refiners made about 300m litres.<br/>
