Treasury Department Guidance on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Raises Questions About Sound Science, the Will of Congress and Cutting Climate Emissions

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today issued guidance affecting which alternative fuels will qualify for federal refundable tax credits for sustainable aviation fuels created by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“We’ll need to wait until March to see whether the Biden administration will make decisions to award generous sustainable aviation fuel tax credits based on sound science and the Congressional intent clearly stated in In the Inflation Reduction Act.

"In the meantime, we are struggling to understand the administration’s decision to allow fuels under the EPA Renewable Fuel Standard to qualify for taxpayer subsidy. Our initial assessment is that this would be a blank check for fuels made from sugar cane, soybean and rapeseed – none of which are sustainable or consistent with Congress’ intent.”

– Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition

For more information, please visit https://www.edf.org/sustainable-aviation-fuels.