Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/723 of 6 February 2025 supplementing Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules for the yearly calculation of price differences between eligible aviation fuels and fossil kerosene and for the EU ETS allocation of allowances for the use of eligible aviation fuels

Type Delegated Regulation
Publication 2025-04-16
State In force
Text As published
Department CLIMA, European Commission
Source EUR-Lex
articles 9

This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.

Reform history JSON API
Image omitted; see official source Official Journal of the European Union EN L series
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2025/723 16.4.2025

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC [^ntr1-L_202500723EN.000101-E0001], and in particular Article 3c(6), seventh subparagraph, thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject-matter and scope

1.

This Regulation lays down rules for the yearly calculation of the price differences between eligible aviation fuels and fossil kerosene and for the allocation of allowances pursuant to Article 3c(6) of Directive 2003/87/EC for the use of eligible aviation fuels by commercial aircraft operators from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2030.

2.

Commercial aircraft operators may apply for allocation in respect of eligible aviation fuels reported in accordance with Article 54a of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 and used on the following subsonic flights:

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

Article 3

Application for allowances for the use of eligible aviation fuels by commercial aircraft operators

1.

Commercial aircraft operators shall apply for allocation of allowances for the use of eligible aviation fuels by reporting the verified amounts of eligible aviation fuels used in the preceding reporting year in their annual emissions report, in accordance with Article 54a of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066.

2.

Where commercial aircraft operators decide not to apply for allocation of allowances for the use of eligible aviation fuels, they shall indicate that decision in the annual emissions report.

3.

The application shall be valid provided that the annual emissions report is submitted to the competent authority by 31 March of the subsequent year after the reporting period pursuant to Article 68(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066.

Article 4

Yearly calculation of the average price differences between eligible aviation fuels and fossil kerosene

1.

The average price difference between eligible aviation fuel and fossil kerosene for a given year shall be calculated as follows:

Price difference(y) = price of eligible aviation fuel(y) – (price of fossil kerosene + ETS price + difference in taxation(y))

where:

Price of eligible aviation fuel(y) = price of eligible aviation fuel y or eligible aviation fuel subcategory y listed in the Annex determined in accordance with paragraph 2, in EUR per tonne;
Price of fossil kerosene = price of fossil kerosene Jet A1 determined in accordance with paragraph 4, in EUR per tonne;
ETS price = the price of using fossil kerosene pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC determined in accordance with paragraph 5, in EUR per tonne;
Difference in taxation(y) = difference between the harmonised minimum levels of taxation on fossil kerosene and the eligible aviation fuel y, in EUR per tonne.
2.

The price of eligible aviation fuels shall be determined for specific eligible aviation fuels where available, and as a minimum for the eligible aviation fuel subcategories listed in the Annex as follows:

3.

The Commission shall determine the minimum selling price based on the best data available and taking into account relevant information available in the EASA technical report on production cost estimates and shall apply an additional margin of 10 %.

4.

The price of fossil kerosene shall be the price published or to be published in the EASA technical report. If the prices are not available in the EASA technical report published or to be published by the time the Commission publishes the price differences in accordance with paragraph 7, the price of fossil kerosene shall be based on the best data available to the Commission.

5.

The ETS price shall be calculated to two decimal places using the following formula:

ETS price = fossil kerosene emissions factor × price of ETS emission allowance

where:

Fossil kerosene emissions factor = emission factor of jet kerosene as set out in Table 1 of Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066;
Price of ETS emission allowance = the average price of emission allowances determined as the weighted average price of auctions carried out in accordance with delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 10(4) of Directive 2003/87/EC during the previous calendar year as published on the common auction platform, in EUR per allowance;

The ETS price shall be zero where the eligible aviation fuel is not zero-rated in accordance with Article 54c of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 and where the eligible aviation fuel is reported on flights under point (b) of Article 1(2).

6.

Where prices are not available in euro, the yearly average of the exchange rates published by the European Central Bank shall be used for the currency exchange.

7.

Each year by 31 May, the Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the price difference for the previous calendar year calculated in accordance with this Article, and the values of all the elements of the formula set out in paragraph 1.

Article 5

Reporting of actual prices paid by commercial aircraft operators

1.

For eligible aviation fuels used from 1 January 2025, by 28 February of each year starting in 2026, a commercial aircraft operator may report to the Commission the actual prices paid for the fuel used in the previous calendar year. Where an operator chooses to report actual prices, the operator shall provide the following together with the report:

The Commission may conclude not to consider reported prices for determining the eligible aviation fuel price in accordance with Article 4(2) from a commercial aircraft operator where the submitted evidence is insufficient or lacks credibility.

2.

The Commission shall ensure that the data and evidence submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 is treated in a confidential manner.

3.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, where only one or two commercial aircraft operators report the actual prices paid for an eligible aviation fuel, the Commission shall take the reported prices into account only if the commercial aircraft operators waive confidentiality requirements.

The Commission shall inform the commercial aircraft operators concerned as soon as possible after the reporting deadline when only one or two commercial aircraft operators reported the actual prices paid for an eligible aviation fuel and shall request a written waiver of confidentiality. Where the concerned commercial aircraft operators do not provide the requested waiver within 15 working days from the request, the reported prices shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the price difference in accordance with Article 4.

4.

By 30 April each year the Commission shall inform the Member States which commercial aircraft operators have submitted the reported prices.

5.

The provisions in this Delegated Regulation shall be without prejudice to the application of Union competition law.

Article 6

Calculation of the amount of allowances to be allocated to commercial aircraft operators

1.

Competent authorities shall determine the demand for allowances for each commercial aircraft operator they administer. The demand shall be calculated as the sum of the demand for each eligible aviation fuel or eligible aviation fuel subcategory listed in the Annex, for which price was determined pursuant to Article 4(2), determined in accordance with paragraph 2 or paragraph 3, as applicable, and rounded down to the nearest integer.

2.

The demand for allowances allocated for the use of each eligible aviation fuel or eligible aviation fuel subcategory listed in the Annex, for which price was determined pursuant to Article 4(2), which were uplifted at airports identified in Article 3c(6), third subparagraph, point (c), of Directive 2003/87/EC shall be determined for each commercial aircraft operator using the following formula:

Image omitted; see official source

where:

Fuel used(y) = amount of neat eligible aviation fuel y or eligible aviation fuel subcategory y listed in the Annex as reported in the annual emissions report, in tonnes;
Price difference(y) = price difference between the eligible aviation fuel y or eligible aviation fuel subcategory y listed in the Annex and fossil fuel, as determined in accordance with Article 4(1), in EUR per tonne;
Allowance price = the average price of allowances as determined in accordance with Article 4(5), in EUR per allowance.
3.

The demand for allowances allocated for the use of each eligible aviation fuel or eligible aviation fuel subcategory listed in the Annex, for which price was determined pursuant to Article 4(2), which were uplifted at airports other than the airports identified in Article 3c(6), third subparagraph, point (c), of Directive 2003/87/EC shall be determined for each commercial aircraft operator using the following formula:

Image omitted; see official source

where:

Fuel used(y) = amount of neat eligible aviation fuel y or eligible aviation fuel subcategory y listed in the Annex as reported in the annual emissions report, in tonnes;
Price difference(y) = price difference between the eligible aviation fuel category y or eligible aviation fuel subcategory y listed in the Annex and fossil fuel, as determined in accordance with Article 4(2), in EUR per tonne;
Allowance price = the average price of allowances as determined in accordance with Article 4(5), in EUR per allowance;
Level of EU ETS support(y) = share of the price difference to be covered for eligible aviation fuel category y as specified in Article 3c(6), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/87/EC.
4.

By 15 June each year competent authorities shall notify to the Commission the following information for each commercial aircraft operator that has applied for the allocation:

5.

The Commission shall aggregate the total demand for allocation of allowances and shall assess whether the demand in a particular year is not higher than the amount of allowances remaining from the amount reserved for this purpose in accordance with Article 3c(6) of Directive 2003/87/EC.

Where the total demand for allocation of allowances in a particular year is higher than the availability of allowances, the Commission shall calculate an allocation reduction factor. That factor shall be applied in a uniform manner to all commercial aircraft operators concerned by the allocation for that year to determine the final allocation of allowances for each commercial aircraft operator. The allocation reduction factor shall be calculated using the following formula:

Image omitted; see official source

The Commission shall inform the competent authorities when the application of an allocation reduction factor is necessary and shall indicate the value of the calculated reduction factor. Based on that information, the competent authorities shall recalculate the final allocation per commercial aircraft operator and notify it to the Commission.

The final allocation per commercial aircraft operator shall be rounded down to the nearest integer.

6.

By 31 August each year, the Commission shall adopt a Decision indicating the allocation of allowances per commercial aircraft operator based on the notifications received, shall inform the relevant competent authorities and shall introduce the changes, where appropriate, into the Union Registry set up pursuant to Article 19 of Directive 2003/87/EC and the transaction log, referred to in Article 20 of that Directive.

Article 7

Correction procedure

1.

Where corrections to the amount of allowances included in the Decision pursuant to Article 6(6) of this Regulation are necessary, such corrections shall be carried out by using allowances from, or by returning allowances to, the amount of allowances reserved in accordance with Article 3c(6) of Directive 2003/87/EC.

2.

Where, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, allowances need to be used from the amount of allowances reserved in accordance with Article 3c(6) of Directive 2003/87/EC and there are no such allowances remaining, the correction requiring additional allowances shall not be carried out.

Article 8

Visibility

Commercial aircraft operators receiving support under this Regulation shall be subject to the following obligations:

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 6 February 2025.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

[^ntr1-L_202500723EN.000101-E0001]: OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/87/oj.

[^ntr2-L_202500723EN.000101-E0002]: Directive (EU) 2023/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/87/EC as regards aviation’s contribution to the Union’s economy-wide emission reduction target and the appropriate implementation of a global market-based measure (OJ L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 115, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/958/oj).

[^ntr3-L_202500723EN.000101-E0003]: Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) ( OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1119/oj).

[^ntr4-L_202500723EN.000101-E0004]: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 of 19 December 2018 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012 (MRR) (OJ L 334, 31.12.2018, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2018/2066/oj).

[^ntr5-L_202500723EN.000101-E0005]: Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation) (OJ L, 2023/2405, 31.10.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2405/oj).

[^ntr6-L_202500723EN.000101-E0006]: Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/96/oj).

ANNEX

ELIGIBLE AVIATION FUEL SUBCATEGORIES

Eligible aviation fuel subcategory Level of direct EU ETS support laid down in Article 3c(6), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/87/EC[^ntr1-L_202500723EN.000901-E0001] Details
1 Renewable fuels of non-biological origin 95 % Drop-in renewable fuels of non-biological origin as defined in Article 2, point (36), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
2 Co-processed renewable fuels of non-biological origin 95 % Co-products in a conventional refinery that are drop-in renewable fuels of non-biological origin as defined in Article 2, point (36), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
3 Advanced aviation biofuels 70 % Biofuels produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
4 Advanced co-processed fuels 70 % Co-products in a conventional refinery produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
5 Renewable hydrogen for aviation 70 % Renewable hydrogen for aviation as defined in Article 3, point (16), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405
6 Aviation biofuels 50 % Biofuels produced from feedstock listed in Part B of Annex IX to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
7 Other aviation biofuels 50 % Biofuels produced from the feedstock not listed in Annex IX to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and not produced from food and feed crops, and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of that Directive
8 Non-fossil low-carbon hydrogen for aviation 50 % Low-carbon hydrogen for aviation as defined in Article 3, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 that is not derived from fossil fuels
9 Non-fossil synthetic low-carbon aviation fuels 50 % Synthetic low-carbon aviation fuels as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 that is not derived from fossil fuels
10 Co-processed fuels 50 % Co-products in a conventional refinery other than advanced co-processed fuels and that are certified in compliance with Article 30 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001

[^ntr1-L_202500723EN.000901-E0001]: Level of support except where the fuel is uplifted at an airport identified in Article 3c(6), third subparagraph, point (c), of Directive 2003/87/EC, where the level of support is 100 %.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/723/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)

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