Continued from page 80 Matt Finch, UK policy
manager at sister campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), noted the fuel for the flight was produced from waste including used cooking oil and said: “We already use more cooking oil than is produced in the UK.” He warned the use of
biodiesel SAF in aircraft would “displace biodiesel used on the roads” without bringing an overall reduction in emissions, while biowaste produced from unrecyclable plastics and municipal solid waste would suffer declining feedstocks. Finch noted: “Half of black bin waste is to disappear by 2035. Plastic waste is to reduce, so we’ll not be producing municipal solid waste. “Will there be feedstocks
for SAF? We think there will be excess renewable energy by 2035, but we’re electrifying heating, we’re electrifying transport. What will the future aviation feedstocks be?” He pointed out: “The EU
recently published its SAF mandate, [but] there is not enough SAF production in the EU to meet it.” The government’s Jet
Zero Strategy commits it to having five SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025. Finch said: “I suspect none will be in construction by the beginning of 2025.” He suggested: “We might only be able to support two SAF plants.” Helena Bennett, head of
policy at the Green Alliance, suggested: “The constraints on supply [for SAF] are much harder to overcome than any of us thought and they risk taking energy from elsewhere.”
Aviation leaders hail Virgin flight ‘milestone’
Ian Taylor
Aviation industry leaders hailed Virgin Atlantic’s operation of the first commercial transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on Tuesday. Airlines UK chief executive Tim
Alderslade described the Heathrow to New York flight as “a hugely important milestone in the race to net zero”. Jonathon Counsell, group head
of sustainability at British Airways parent IAG, said: “The test flights prove the industry is technically ready to make the switch to SAF. “What we need now is action
from governments to incentivise investment and get plants into construction. That needs to happen quickly as the UK government has committed to five plants in construction by 2025.” BA director of sustainability Carrie
Harris reinforced the message, saying: “Sustainable aviation fuel is currently
the rest of Europe and the US, with worse sustainability outcomes and thousands of new jobs lost overseas. “That’s why we need support
Virgin Atlantic’s flight on Tuesday ‘proves the
industry is technically ready’
the only realistic low-carbon solution for long-haul flights. It is vital SAF is scaled up and developed to create enough supply to enable us to achieve our goal of net zero emissions.” Alderslade said: “We need to
make occasions like this the new normal, ensuring UK airlines are able to access enough affordable SAF this decade to meet the [government] mandate [of 10% SAF use by 2030], with as much of it as possible produced here in the UK. The last thing we want is higher fuel costs for UK passengers compared to
for the transition to SAF, including bringing the cost further into line with jet fuel, and a revenue certainty mechanism – underwritten by government – in the next Budget, with a commitment to legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.” The aviation industry coalition
Sustainable Aviation also hailed the flight as “an exciting milestone” but said: “The right government policy and price support needs to be in place to see the scalability of affordable SAF.” Sustainable Aviation also called
for an acceleration of UK airspace modernisation, investment in zero- emission flight technology through funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute programme and in UK hydrogen supply and adjustments to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Government seals global agreement on fuel emissions
The UK government claimed a leading role last week in achieving a “compromise agreement” to reduce global aviation fuel emissions by 5% by 2030. The agreement on a framework
to cut emissions by scaling up use of SAF came at an International Civil Aviation Organization Conference on Aviation Alternative
78 30 NOVEMBER 2023
Fuels, at which the UK convened the International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition of 62 governments and organisations. New UK aviation minister
Anthony Browne argued: “This is a significant moment in our path to sustainable flying.” Airline association Iata hailed
the agreement but noted that fulfilling it would depend on governments delivering policy support for investment to create “a global SAF market” and “robust SAF-accounting framework”. Iata director general Willie
Walsh said: “The time horizon is
ambitious. The agreement signals the need for policies that enable real progress.” Iata pointed out airlines’ demand for SAF “vastly exceeds the availability today, which is limited to 0.2% of airlines’ jet fuel consumption in 2023”.
travelweekly.co.uk
Anthony Browne
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Abdul N Quraishi
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