Possible shortages of jet fuels due to the war in Iran are a “primary concern” for the European Commission – and an occasion for airlines to further attack the EU’s climate policies.
European airlines were not running short of fuel just yet, but could face kerosene shortages “in the near future”, the EU executive’s energy policy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, the Commission official sought to reassure rather than raise the alarm.
Crude oil supplies to EU refineries were “stable” and there was “no need for additional stock releases at present”, Itkonen said. Domestic refineries were capable of covering about 70% of the bloc’s kerosene requirements, she added.
“Our job and our role at the moment is to coordinate and gather full situational awareness and real-time information about the situation, which is why we are now convening oil and gas coordination groups on a weekly basis,” Itkonen said.
Airlines mobilise
European operators are already pushing for action and concessions from Brussels, however.
The trade association Airlines for Europe (A4E) – whose members include big names like Ryanair, Lufthansa, and Air France-KLM – has already called for a platform to jointly negotiate and purchase kerosene, an approach the EU has previously used for natural gas and is now applying to critical raw materials.
The lobby group also wants a law requiring European countries to specifically stockpile jet fuel, as they are already required to do with oil and gas.
Moreover, A4E is using the latest geopolitical turbulence to doubled down its attack on the key European green transition policies such as the Emissions Trading System (ETS) that forces polluters – including operators of domestic flights – to pay for every tonne of CO2 they pump into the atmosphere.
The bloc should “temporarily suspend ETS”, a spokesperson for group said in a statement. The aviation lobby also wants the price of emissions allowances reduced and capped “to tackle price volatility”.
The EU should also temporarily refund the full price difference between fossil kerosene and the sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) that airlines are required by law to use in small but gradually increasing quantities, A4E said.
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