The UK’s Sustainable Aviation coalition renewed its calls on Monday for strong government support to help the industry meet its net zero carbon objective by 2050. The group published the latest edition of its annual ‘carbon roadmaps’ at the Sustainable Skies trade show, during which airline and aerospace industry leaders were set to lobby British government ministers during the eighth meeting of the country’s Jet Zero Council.
“There is a clear and credible plan to take carbon dioxide out of aviation through increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and also with hydrogen [propulsion],” Sustainable Aviation’s chair Matt Gorman told reporters. “It’s also an economic opportunity for the UK, but other countries, like the U.S., are moving ahead of the UK so this opportunity is at risk from a lack of government action."
Gorman, who also serves as London Heathrow Airport’s head of sustainability, acknowledged that meeting the net zero objectives will ultimately involve some reduction in flying activity. He predicted that less passenger traffic will account for about 14 percent of the overall cut in carbon output required and that rising costs associated with moves such as the increased use of SAF would inevitably drive the trend.
According to Sustainable Aviation’s latest roadmap, a shift from fossil fuels to SAF will account for some 40 percent of the CO2 reduction. Another 25 percent will come from airlines replacing old, inefficient aircraft with new equipment and more direct flight paths made possible by the modernization of air traffic management processes and equipment. The longer-term introduction of new hydrogen-powered aircraft on shorter routes would deliver 10 percent of the required cut.
While praising UK government commitments to support increased SAF production, Sustainable Aviation called for current levels of public funding for that and for increasing and extending other green aviation initiatives. Gorman welcomed a new government commitment to hold an independent review of SAF pricing while warning that the UK could miss out if it moves too slowly. “The U.S. wants to corner the market in SAF,” he stated.
International Airlines Group's head of sustainability Jonathon Counsell amplified the sense of urgency. "We have to move faster," he insisted. "We don't have another 60 years to do this, we have 20 years at best."
During the Sustainable Aviation conference, Haldane Dodds, executive director of the Air Transport Industry Action Group, echoed IAG’s messaging. He called for governments worldwide to introduce mandates requiring the availability of specified levels of SAF blends for use by airlines, a key objective of an ICAO meeting on aviation fuel scheduled for November.
“Last year, the industry used 200,000 tonnes of SAF worldwide, but we need to get to 400 million tonnes each year,” Dodds said. “That’s going to take an investment of something like $1.5 trillion in investment, and this can’t just happen in the rich world; it needs to be a universal commitment. We’ve had decades of delay from oil companies and now we need action fast.”
UK transport secretary Mark Harper told the conference that decarbonization is the aviation industry's greatest challenge and one that has to be met so that it can, "earn its right to grow more." He said the government has committed £55 million ($68 million) to support efforts to build five SAF manufacturing plants in the country, with the University of Sheffield today appointed to be responsible for SAF testing for the industry, which is aiming to have SAF account for 10 percent of its fuel mix by 2030.
The UK government has also set a new objective for the country's airports to achieve the net zero objective by 2040. Harper praised Gatwick, Bristol and Edinburgh airports for setting their own decarbonization targets ahead of this timeline.
However, Matt Finch, policy manager with the UK group Transport & Environment expressed impatience at what he views as procrastination by the government in firming up the policy framework for sustainable aviation. He said that Harper is the third transport secretary in a Conservative administration that has been led by three different prime ministers in the past 12 months to say that new policy initiatives and funding will be treated as a matter of urgency.
On Monday, the UK's Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space trade organization launched its new Sustainability Challenge with £50,000 in funding available to five small- and medium-sized businesses. The challenge is a competition to incentivize its member companies to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their operations. Entries are open through May 24 and the winners will be announced at the Paris Air Show in June.
During the Sustainable Skies event, a Royal Air Force Voyager military aircraft made a fly-past of the Farnborough site. The A330-based platform operated on a 43 percent blend of sustainable aviation fuel provided by International Airlines Group and BP, and flew in from the North Sea where it conducted air-to-air refueling of several warplanes including an RAF Typhoon fighter.