According to Reuters, two sources familiar with the matter revealed that the United States is expected to oppose the green aviation fuel proposal of the UN aviation agency's board this month. Washington says unfairly favors Brazilian corn farmers at the expense of U.S. producers in development of green jet fuel.

One of the sources said the discussions could be resolved by a compromise. Still, Brazil's corn ethanol producers have warned that the disagreement could undermine global confidence in certification of sustainable aviation fuels.

Earlier, the International Civil Aviation Organization announced on March 3 that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Aviation Environmental Protection Committee (CAEP) held its 13th meeting at the ICAO headquarters from February 17 to 28. The recommendations put forward at the meeting clearly showed the progress made in achieving sustainable aviation.

The committee made a total of 31 recommendations, including the development of a monitoring and reporting method for carbon dioxide emissions reductions in response to ICAO's global long-term ideal goals, proposed stricter aircraft noise and carbon dioxide emission standards, and made progress in non-carbon dioxide emissions, climate adaptation, airports, operations, fuels and CORSIA.

Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokeswoman, said the United States strongly opposes one of the recommendations on "sustainable" aviation fuel. The proposal on multi-cropping (growing two or more crops on the same land to produce sustainable aviation fuel) would unfairly harm American farmers and benefit Brazil more than the rest of the world because it would give lower carbon emission scores to agricultural activities that grow multiple crops, which is a common practice in South American countries.

"The U.S. government believes this proposal is premature and lacks sufficient technical or scientific justification," Tammy Bruce said. "Despite these issues, CAEP adopted the recommendation, harming U.S. farmers and the aviation industry, while increasing incentives for deforestation of threatened tropical forests."

The recommendation is coming to ICAO's 36-member council for review ahead of the global agency's triennial assembly this fall.

The recommendation will be submitted to the Council of ICAO's 36 member states for consideration.

With U.S. corn production outpacing domestic demand, farmers and ethanol producers in the Midwest have said they are trying to lower the emissions involved in producing and marketing corn ethanol for new markets like green jet fuel. For instance, some U.S. ethanol producers have suggested using carbon capture technology.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association, which supports carbon capture and sequestration projects to lower emissions, has said Brazil already has a lower carbon score for corn ethanol than the U.S., which would give the South American country an advantage in meeting demand from airlines.

In Brazil, where annual corn ethanol output is forecast to almost double to around 16 billion litres by 2032, the producers’ association UNEM said recommendations from ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) should be free from politics.

According to ICAO's plan, the global aviation industry needs to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a key link. Currently, SAF accounts for only 0.3% of global jet fuel demand. The International Air Transport Association estimates that the long-term cost of the green transformation of the aviation industry is $4.7 trillion.

The global green transformation is no longer a simple environmental issue, but also a complex game involving agriculture, trade, geography and energy structure. How to formulate a fair, scientific and sustainable carbon intensity scoring system is becoming the focus of the global game.

Author：Qinger