Joint letter to the European Commission on sustainable fuels

A joint letter from civil society organizations calling on the European Commission to prevent the adoption of unsustainable fuels in the maritime and aviation sectors. The authors argue that crop-based biofuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG) may increase emissions or create stranded assets, and instead advocate for the promotion of green electro-fuels produced from renewable electricity to support the European Green Deal's 2050 carbon neutrality goal.

• The signatories request that the European Commission explicitly exclude biofuels and fossil natural gas from the FuelEU Maritime initiative and exclude crop-based biofuels from ReFuelEU Aviation to avoid promoting unsustainable fuels.
• Crop-based biofuels are criticized for failing to provide significant carbon reductions compared to fossil fuels, often resulting in higher emissions, and causing social injustices such as food price volatility and water scarcity.
• Fossil natural gas is identified as causing higher greenhouse gas emissions than diesel due to on-board ship methane leakages and upstream methane slips, which current EU legislation ignores.
• The authors warn that continued public investment in fossil natural gas infrastructure and ships risks creating stranded assets that would hinder the EU's ability to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
• The letter advocates for a focus on green electro-fuels produced from additional renewable electricity, asserting they can drive investment and employment in hydrogen production, shipbuilding, and technology manufacturing.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2021). Joint letter to the European Commission on sustainable fuels. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/joint-letter-to-the-european-commission-on-sustainable-fuels/

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Joint letter to the European Commission on sustainable fuels. 2021. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/joint-letter-to-the-european-commission-on-sustainable-fuels/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Joint letter to the European Commission on sustainable fuels |date=20 January 2021 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/joint-letter-to-the-european-commission-on-sustainable-fuels/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2021joint, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Joint letter to the European Commission on sustainable fuels}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/joint-letter-to-the-european-commission-on-sustainable-fuels/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }