Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): ANAC launches public consultation following the issuance of the regulatory decree

The Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil – “ANAC”) has submitted to public consultation a draft Resolution that will regulate the monitoring, reporting and verification (“MRV”) of CO₂ emissions from domestic air operations, as well as the enforcement of compliance with the annual regulatory target for reducing such emissions, under the National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program (Programa Nacional de Combustível Sustentável de Aviação – “ProBioQAV”). The public consultation will remain open until October 1, 2026.

Under the draft, the Resolution will apply to every air operator that emits 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ or more in a given year and that (i) is certified under Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulation (Regulamento Brasileiro de Aviação Civil – “RBAC”) No. 119; or (ii) operates under RBAC No. 129. The draft further provides that air operators must submit to ANAC an Emissions Monitoring Plan by October 31 of the same year in which they reach, or expect to reach, the 10,000-tonne CO₂ emissions threshold, and must file an Emissions Report annually.

To comply with the annual regulatory emissions reduction target set forth in Article 10 of Law No. 14,993/2024 (the “Fuel of the Future Law”)—which starts at 1% as of January 1, 2027, and reaches 10% as of January 1, 2037—operators must retire SAF Sustainability Certificates (Certificados de Sustentabilidade do SAF – “CS-SAF”). The target may be partially met through a combination of the following alternative compliance mechanisms:

• The use of Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (“LCAF”);
• Retirement of Decarbonization Credits (Créditos de Descarbonização – “CBIOs”) under the National Biofuels Policy (Política Nacional de Biocombustíveis – RenovaBio);
• The use of SAF sustainability certificates originating from other countries, provided that there is a reciprocity agreement with Brazil and that the other applicable requirements are met; and
• Verified Emission Reduction or Removal Certificates (Certificados de Redução ou Remoção Verificada de Emissões – CRVE), an asset of the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (Sistema Brasileiro de Comércio de Emissões de Gases de Efeito Estufa – SBCE).

Under the regulatory decree discussed below, the combination of these alternative mechanisms may not exceed 5% of the mandatory annual target, with transitional caps of up to 15% in 2027 and 2028, and up to 10% in 2029.

ANAC opened the public consultation following the publication of Decree No. 13,094 of August 12, 2026 (the “Decree”), which regulates ProBioQAV and establishes the operational rules for the production, certification, trading and oversight of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (“SAF”), as well as for compliance with the mandatory greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reduction targets imposed by the Fuel of the Future Law on air operators in domestic flights.

The program's core instrument is the CS-SAF, a book-entry instrument issued in units corresponding to the volume or mass of SAF demonstrably sold in the domestic market. The CS-SAF allows the environmental attribute to be separated from the physical fuel, so that it can be traded separately from the biofuel molecule under the book & claim model. In practice, the CS-SAF serves as the environmental asset that air operators must retire to demonstrate compliance with the regulatory emissions reduction targets. All SAF sold in Brazil for use in domestic and international flights must be linked to a CS-SAF, which will be valid for 18 months from its issuance for purposes of demonstrating compliance with the target.

For SAF certification, domestic producers may opt for certification either under the National SAF Certification Program (Programa Nacional de Certificação de SAF), to be established by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis – “ANP”), or in accordance with the criteria and methodologies of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (“CORSIA”) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”), in which case it will automatically be deemed eligible under the national program. Imported SAF, in turn, must be certified in accordance with CORSIA requirements. Notably, the Decree expressly prohibits the issuance of CBIOs for SAF production, in order to prevent double counting of the environmental benefit associated with the fuel. This prohibition does not, however, prevent air operators from using CBIOs as an alternative mechanism to comply with the target, subject to the limits described above.

ANAC will oversee compliance with the targets, and operators must complete the retirement of CS-SAFs in the volume required to meet their targets by January 31 of the year following the target reference year.

In light of this scenario, air operators, SAF producers and importers, and other players in the value chain should assess the impacts of the new rules on their supply and compliance strategies, bearing in mind that the first reduction target will apply as of January 1, 2027, and that ANP and ANAC must issue their complementary regulations—including those governing the National SAF Certification Program—by December 18, 2026. In this context, the public consultation provides a relevant opportunity for regulated entities to contribute to the design of the MRV rules and the penalty regime before their approval.

The Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability practice of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown remains available to provide further clarification on the obligations and opportunities related to ProBioQAV.