Biofuel industry leaders and officials from the Biden Administration met virtually for a White House roundtable discussion on the future of sustainable aviation fuels Thursday. In conjunction with the event, the White House announced a goal to achieve 3 billion gallons of SAF production and reduce aviation-related emissions by 20 percent by 2030.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper participated in the event, sharing RFA’s view that SAF production presents a major new market opportunity for ethanol producers, as the lifecycle carbon footprint of ethanol continues to shrink and the economics of ethanol-to-jet fuel processes continue to improve. He also highlighted a recent letter from RFA member companies to President Biden, in which they pledged that the ethanol they produce will achieve an average GHG reduction of 70% compared to petroleum by 2030 and a net-zero emission carbon footprint by 2050 or sooner.

“Ethanol has a decades-long proven track record for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, and we are confident that ethanol will play a central role in cleaning up aviation fuels as well,” said Cooper. “Today’s average corn ethanol already cuts GHG emissions in half compared to petroleum, and some readily available sources of ethanol in the market have been certified by the California Air Resources Board as providing a 70-80% GHG reduction.”