Don’t let Thunberg’s flight shaming end air travel, say MPS
MATT HANCOCK and Chris Grayling are part of a coalition of Conservative MPS taking on Greta Thunberg and the flight-shaming movement pushing for new policies that would allow families to jet away on “guilt-free” holidays.
Former transport ministers Robert Courts and Stephen Hammond, and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers, are also among 28 MPS, peers and MSPS calling for green taxes to be channelled into the production and use of sustainable aviation fuels.
A faster transition towards airlines using sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF, will allow the UK to hit environmental goals “without forcing people to give up flying”, the group says. Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is claimed to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by around 80pc. Used chip cooking oil, woodmill waste, and even algae are among a range of waste products that can be converted into SAF.
It is one of only a few “drop-in” solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of flying – meaning that the standard kerosene can be swapped for the biofuel without any adaptations to aircraft.
But production and price are constraining factors. Producers face high set-up costs and are only willing to commit to investment capital if they know there are willing buyers. For airlines, the cost of SAF is also prohibitive - but the price differential is reducing.
In 2020, jet fuel cost roughly was $0.50 per litre compared with SAF, which was priced at $1.10 per litre. With oil prices rising in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine, jet fuel has risen to more than $0.90-a-litre.
The Tory MPS call on ministers to launch a contracts-for-difference scheme – similar to that used to promote development of renewable energy sources such as wind farms. They estimate the CFD scheme would create 6,500 jobs, add £1bn annually to the economy and cut 3.6m tonnes of carbon a year by 2035.
The scheme would be funded by airlines’ tax receipts from a strengthened UK Emissions Trading Scheme.