Sacramento, California — California will work with a trade group representing major U.S. airlines to increase the availability of sustainable aviation fuel, state officials said Wednesday.
The California Air Resources Board, along with Airlines for America, which represents Delta, JetBlue, United and other airlines, announced a plan to increase the availability of sustainable aviation fuel in the state to 200 million gallons by 2035. This amount will cover approximately 40%. There is a demand for intrastate travel, the agency said.
Davina Hurt, board member and chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District, said these efforts will help the state address climate change and improve air quality.
“Together, we are not only taking a step forward on clean fuels, but we are creating a ripple effect of positive change that will reverberate throughout the nine counties of the Bay Area and extend throughout the state of California and beyond,” Hurt said at a news conference. said. San Francisco International Airport.
California produces about 11 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel each year, according to the commission. The state plans to use sustainable aviation fuel produced in California and other states to achieve the new goal.
The announcement comes after some airline employees and advocates said the state is not doing enough to address the health impacts of jet fuel emissions. Last year, Air Resources Board staff included jet fuel in a proposal to update the state’s low-carbon fuel standards. This program is intended to transition the state to transportation fuels that emit less greenhouse gas emissions. But staff later removed jet fuel from the rule change proposal, which the board plans to vote on next week.
States have passed policies in recent years to phase out sales of new fossil fuel-powered cars, trucks, trains and lawn mowers.
President Joe Biden’s administration has also set goals to curb jet fuel emissions. Biden announced in 2021 goals to reduce aviation emissions by 20% by 2030 and replace all kerosene-based jet fuel with sustainable fuels by 2050.
Airplanes accounted for about 9% of global warming emissions from the U.S. transportation sector in 2022, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Emissions from cars and trucks account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who often touts California as a climate leader, said the new commitments would help the state and industry “face the emissions problem head on.”
“This is an important step forward in our efforts to reduce pollution, protect communities, and build a future of cleaner air and innovative climate solutions,” he said in a statement.
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Austin is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna
