Brazil has issued regulations for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate, setting the framework for airlines to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions from domestic flights from 2027.
The decree, published by the Brazilian government on August 12, establishes rules for the National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program, known as ProBioQAV. The programme was created under Brazil’s Fuel of the Future Law, enacted in October 2024, Ethanol Producer Magazine reported.
Under ProBioQAV, domestic airline operators will be required to achieve a 1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2027, with the target increasing progressively to 10% by 2037.
The programme also allows a book-and-claim system for tracking SAF’s environmental attributes. Under this model, the physical fuel and its associated environmental benefits can be traded separately among different commercial operators and buyers.
The new regulations allow the carbon intensity of SAF to be calculated using either Brazil’s REnovaBio carbon-intensity calculation tool or the International Civil Aviation Organization’s CORISA methodology.
Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) have been directed to issue additional regulations needed to implement the SAF mandate by December 18, 2026.
Potential ethanol demand
The mandate could create a significant new market for ethanol-based SAF. Data previously published by UNICA, Brazil’s sugarcane industry association, estimates that ProBioQAV could generate demand for about 1.2 billion litres of alcohol-based SAF.
Meeting the programme’s emissions-reduction targets could require around 2 billion litres of ethanol as a feedstock for SAF production, according to UNICA estimates.
The new framework is expected to provide greater clarity to airlines, fuel producers and other participants preparing for Brazil’s SAF market, with the detailed implementation rules to be issued later this year.
