Parliamentarians call for action on sustainable aviation fuels
The APPG for the Future of Aviation have today written to the Prime Minister calling for the Government to commit to:
A strong unassailable commitment to accelerating the construction of SAF plants in the UK by 2025 and provide direct support to a 10 per cent SAF uptake target by 2030. At the most recent Spending Review, the Government committed £180 million to accelerate the commercialisation of SAF plants. Whilst this investment is welcome, we ask you to go further than this and make it clear the intention is to have the first generation of SAF plants under construction by 2025.
As part of the upcoming Jet Zero Strategy, commit to a consultation on price support schemes to turbocharge SAF production, such as a Contracts for Difference mechanism. Similar mechanisms have been used with great effect within the renewable energy markets, and we implore you to consult on an implementation without delay in order to provide much-needed predictability and stability for potential investors.
A commitment to ringfencing revenues generated from the UK’s aviation Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to support further decarbonisation of the industry.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1634538/net-zero-boris-johnson-britain-aviation-latest
A full copy of the letter is below:
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to you as a cross party group of parliamentarians asking for your support regarding the sustainable aviation industry’s growth in the UK, particularly the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), in order to make the UK a global leader in net zero aviation. A successful domestic SAF industry is crucial to the realisation of net zero, and would create thousands of jobs across the country, however, these benefits are not guaranteed.
We are in a race against time to realise the full potential of the UK’s SAF industry and the sustainable aviation industry. Shell has already committed to an investment in Rotterdam for one of its first SAF plants. The United States of America has announced a fuel blender’s credit scheme. Whilst the French Government is putting significant pressure on manufacturers to commit to domestic development and manufacturing projects.
The UK is uniquely placed to become a world leader in SAF production, delivering billions of pounds of investment in regions across the country, from Humberside, Scotland, Cheshire, South Wales to Teesside. However, in order for the UK to become a global leader in sustainable aviation and SAF production, we need strong and specific support from the Government including:
A strong unassailable commitment to accelerating the construction of SAF plants in the UK by 2025 and provide direct support to a 10 per cent SAF uptake target by 2030. At the most recent Spending Review, the Government committed £180 million to accelerate the commercialisation of SAF plants. Whilst this investment is welcome, we ask you to go further than this and make it clear the intention is to have the first generation of SAF plants under construction by 2025.
As part of the upcoming Jet Zero Strategy, commit to a consultation on price support schemes to turbocharge SAF production, such as a Contracts for Difference mechanism. Similar mechanisms have been used with great effect within the renewable energy markets, and we implore you to consult on an implementation without delay in order to provide much-needed predictability and stability for potential investors.
A commitment to ringfencing revenues generated from the UK’s aviation Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to support further decarbonisation of the industry.
Without a thriving SAF industry not only will the UK be left behind as the rest of the world reaps the economic benefits of sustainable aviation, but Net Zero and this Government’s wider environmental ambitions will be significantly hampered.
We urge you to work with your Ministers and industry leaders across the aviation industry to seize the UK’s unique potential as a world leader in sustainable aviation.
Yours Sincerely,
Henry Smith MP
Alun Cairns MP
Ben Bradshaw MP
Christine Jardine MP
Sir Peter Bottomley MP
Richard Thomson MP
Daisy Cooper MP
Philippa Whitford MP
Jonathan Lord MP
Tony Lloyd MP
Tim Loughton MP
Jill Mortimer MP
Sir Roger Gale MP
Sir Graham Brady MP
Caroline Ansell MP
Andrew Selous MP
Catherine McKinnell MP
Royston Smith MP
Gavin Newlands MP
Mick Whitley MP
Rob Roberts MP
Margaret Ferrier MP
Baroness Foster
Lord Selkirk
Lord Hacking
Lord Empey
Baroness Altmann
Baroness Randerson
Lord Soley
Baroness Quin
Lord Stoneham
Lord Bowness
Baroness Harris
Baroness Neville-Jones
Lord Gilbert
Lord Rogan
Lord Teverson
Lord McNicol
Lord Haselhurst
Lord Khan
Lord Hastings
Lord Campbell
Lord Whitty
Lord Naseby
Lord Blunkett