Sweden to increase airport fees for less fuel efficient planes; danger of promoting bio jet fuels

The Swedish government plans to charge airlines more at takeoff and landing if their aircraft are less fuel efficient.  It must be approved by parliament. The plan might take effect in July and means that newer and less inefficient aircraft will benefit from the scheme, while older planes, more fuel-hungry planes will be hit with higher fees.  Sweden may be the first to do this.  It will affect Arlanda airport in Stockholm and Landvetter in Gothenburg, and the plan is still under discussion and being fine-tuned. However, it will consider aircraft using biofuels as low carbon. There are only very tiny amounts of biofuel available, that do not cause considerable environmental harm. Some can be produced from woody waste, from the wood industry. Some from domestic waste. It is expensive to produce. The cheapest source of these fuels would be palm oil, which would have very negative impacts on biodiversity, competing with land for human food, and also in reality produce as much CO2 over the full life-cycle as fossil kerosene.
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There is a lot of hype about  biofuels in Sweden:

eg.

Sweden to increase airport fees for high-polluting planes

Climate impact, such as use of biofuels, to be taken into account when calculating charges, says government

Agence France-Presse
Tue 23 Mar 2021  (Guardian)

Sweden plans to charge airlines more at takeoff and landing if their aircraft are more polluting, the government has said.

The measure is set to go into effect in July and means that newer and more efficient aircraft will benefit from the scheme while older planes will be hit with higher fees.

“This means that takeoff and landing fees can be more significant when a plane’s climate impact is higher and they can be reduced when the climate impact is lower,” said the ministry of infrastructure on Monday, describing the plan as a first in Europe and possibly the world.

The project, which must be approved by parliament and concerns Arlanda airport in Stockholm and Landvetter in Gothenburg, also takes into account aircraft that use bio fuels.

The government said the project was still under discussion and being fine-tuned.

Sweden is where the flight-shame, or flygskam, movement began in 2018 that heaped pressure on people to stop flying in order to lower carbon emissions. According to Swedish Railways, a single flight between Stockholm and Gothenburg, its two biggest cities, generates as much carbon dioxide as 40,000 train journeys – a fact that has plainly struck a chord with Swedes, previously a nation of frequent flyers.

According to a 2017 study, air travel by every Swede is responsible for about about 1.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a 50% increase from 1990.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/23/sweden-to-increase-airport-fees-for-high-polluting-planes

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‘Sweden becomes a frontrunner in sustainable aviation’

Biofuels News
Sweden aims to be fossil-free by 2045
Sweden has an ambitious target of being fossil-free by 2045 and the Swedish Government plans to introduce a greenhouse gas reduction mandate for aviation fuel sold in the country next year.
The reduction level will be 0.8% in 2021, and gradually increase to 27% in 2030. This makes Sweden an undisputed leader in sustainable aviation.
“We need frontrunners to lead the way in sustainable aviation. The ambitious target now set by the Swedish government is an example others should follow in order to support the aviation industry in meeting its emission reduction targets. It also creates the necessary certainty for sustainable aviation fuel producers to invest in increasing the production”, says Jonathan Wood, vice president, renewable aviation Europe at Neste.
Earlier this year, Norway introduced a 0.5% biofuel blending mandate.
There will be enough capacity on the market to supply the anticipated volumes of sustainable aviation fuel to Sweden and Norway.
Neste is already producing commercial scale volumes of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel, refined from renewable waste and residue raw materials. In its neat form and over the lifecycle, the fuel can reduce up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel.
Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel annual capacity is currently 100,000 tons. With Neste’s Singapore refinery expansion on the way, and with possible additional investment into the Rotterdam refinery, Neste will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons of sustainable aviation fuel annually by 2023.
The global aviation industry has set ambitious targets to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from air transport, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and beyond, and a 50% reduction of net aviation carbon emissions by 2050.
Aviation needs multiple solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, sustainable aviation fuels offer the only viable alternative to fossil fuels for powering aircrafts.

According to a 2017 study, air travel by every Swede is responsible for about about 1.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a 50% increase from 1990.

https://biofuels-news.com/news/sweden-becomes-a-frontrunner-in-sustainable-aviation/