British Columbia Revamps Low Carbon Fuel Regs, Requires SAF
The government of British Columbia on Dec. 11 released regulations for its revamped low carbon fuels program, becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to require the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
British Columbia in 2008 first passed legislation to establish a Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The LCFS was implemented in 2013. The government of British Columbia in 2022 passed a new Low Carbon Fuels Act, along with amendments in 2023, to replace the 2008 legislation. The province on Dec. 11 published rules for the new Low Carbon Fuels Regulation, which is set to become effective on Jan. 1, 2024.
Among the changes to the low carbon fuels program is a new requirement that fuel suppliers incorporate low carbon jet fuel (LCJF) into fossil jet fuel. The regulations require renewable fuel to comprise at least 1 percent of jet fuel starting in 2028, increasing to 2 percent in 2029 and 3 percent in 2030 and subsequent compliance periods. The regulations also include a carbon intensity (CI) reduction requirement for jet fuel that phases in at 2 percent in 2026, 4 percent in 2027, 6 percent in 2028, 8 percent in 2029 and 10 percent in 2023 and subsequent compliance periods.
The CI reduction requirements for gasoline and diesel fuel start at 16 percent in 2024 and increase to 18.3 percent in 2025, 20.6 percent in 2026, 23 percent in 2027, 25.3 percent in 2028, 27.7 percent in 2029 and 30 percent in 2023 and subsequent compliance periods.
Advanced Biofuels Canada is applauding British Columbia’s leadership in low carbon fuels. “When the province set a new 2030 transportation emissions reduction target in December 2022 within its CleanBC strategy, it already had one of the most stringent low carbon fuel standards regulations in the world,” said Ian Thomson, president of ABFC. “BC required the use of low carbon on-road transport fuels starting in 2013, but proven and fully functional low carbon fuels compatible with the large turbines in commercial aircraft took years of development.”
“Fast forward to late 2023, there are hundreds of planes in the air today using LCJF, and with availability at over 100 airports,” he continued. “But for these alternatives to be manufactured at scale, fuel producers need assured markets, and that’s where BC’s leadership – again – is so critical. After consulting widely, BC has set gradual, achievable, and affordable targets. Aviation emissions are growing, and viable alternatives must perform as flawlessly as fossil jet fuels. Years of commercial use show that LCJF is not only as safe and operable as fossil jet, but also superior in several aspects.”
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