To meet its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate set to take effect in 2027, Brazil must move quickly on several fronts, including securing approval for additional feedstocks under the aviation sector’s global carbon-reduction framework and advancing long-delayed regulations.
Executives, analysts and government officials speaking at an Argus Media event in São Paulo on Monday warned that Brazil faces mounting pressure to expand the range of SAF feedstocks approved under Corsia, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) program for reducing emissions from air travel.
Corsia will make emissions reductions mandatory from 2027, prompting countries around the world to introduce blending mandates and other measures. Brazil’s program requires a 1% reduction in aviation emissions beginning next year.
“The most important task is developing and certifying feedstocks,” said Ricardo Pinto, a senior specialist at Petrobras, which supplies 92% of the jet fuel consumed in Brazil.
According to Pinto, current global SAF production is insufficient to cover even 1% of worldwide aviation fuel demand. “That’s why every possible feedstock needs to be certified under Corsia,” he said, adding that the process is challenging due to a shortage of auditors.
The issue is expected to become more pressing as targets tighten. In Japan, for example, sustainable fuels are expected to account for 10% of aviation fuel consumption by 2030.
Brazil currently has nine feedstock certification requests under review by Corsia, including corn ethanol, beef tallow and macaúba palm. Corsia currently recognizes 57 eligible feedstocks for SAF production, including palm oil and soybean oil.
Push for Aligned Metrics
Certification is only part of the challenge. Industry and government officials also stressed the importance of aligning Brazil’s measurement standards with international benchmarks.
Marlon Arraes Jardim Leal, director of the Biofuels Department at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), said Brazil should adopt global standards and methodologies to reduce costs and improve access to export markets.
According to Leal, that alignment began last year with the inclusion of the HEFA pathway—SAF produced from oils and fats—into RenovaCalc, the emissions-accounting tool used under Brazil’s RenovaBio biofuels program.
Celso Macedo, Analytics and Trading Intelligence manager at fuel distributor Vibra, echoed the call for consistency.
“There cannot be a mismatch between Corsia and Brazil’s framework,” Macedo said. “Legal certainty is also essential, particularly because we do not do business with companies that fail to comply with CBio requirements.”
Long-Awaited Decree Still Pending
At the same time, Brazil has yet to finalize the regulatory framework governing SAF.
Although Congress approved the Fuel of the Future law in 2024, the federal government has not yet issued the decree needed to implement the SAF mandate. The proposal has remained with the Civil House, the presidential chief-of-staff office, since the public consultation process ended on Dec. 28.
Leal criticized the delay, saying the decree governing SAF production in Brazil “should already have been published.” According to him, the text establishing the mandate is now “in the hands of the President” and “could be published in the Official Gazette on any given day.”
Even after the decree is issued, additional approvals will still be required from Brazil’s oil regulator, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), and from civil aviation regulator Anac.
Pedro Carvalho da Silva, Gol’s director of corporate finance and treasury, noted that the industry will also need time to adjust once the rules are finalized.
“It is difficult to anticipate the economic mechanisms without regulation,” he said, “especially in a sector that sells its product—the airline ticket—up to a year in advance.”
The Office of the President did not respond to requests for comment on when the decree may be published.
This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
