The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Mark Harper)

This Government are fiercely proud of the success of Britain’s aviation industry, and are committed to ensuring it continues to grow and succeed in future. Decarbonisation is critical to that future, and today we are setting out another key step in delivering that by publishing the full policy detail of a world leading sustainable aviation fuel mandate which will deliver 10% of all jet fuel in flights taking off from the UK from sustainable sources by 2030 and 22% by 2040. It will be one of the first in the world to be put into law and, subject to parliamentary approval, will be implemented from 1 January 2025, once again putting the UK at the forefront of decarbonising air travel. We are also today launching a consultation on an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism to support investment in the UK’s SAF production industry.

This is part of the Government’s plan to deliver on our net zero commitments while ensuring we take a pragmatic and proportionate approach which minimises unnecessary burdens on the public.

While we recognise SAF may be more expensive than traditional jet fuel in the immediate term, we are ensuring that decarbonisation does not come at the expense of consumers. This plan is part of our approach to ensure that the rationing of flights through “demand management” is ruled out. The plan includes a review mechanism to help manage prices and minimise the impact on ticket fares for passengers. The Government also have the power to change key limits within the mandate to block higher price rises in the case of SAF shortages—keeping the impact on consumers to a minimum.

Providing sufficient SAF is available, any increases in air fares as a result of SAF will fall well within the range of usual fluctuations in prices we see every year and the Government have plans in place to prevent any major hikes. This is part of the Government’s plan to deliver on our ambitious net zero commitments while ensuring we take a pragmatic and proportionate approach which minimises unnecessary burdens on the public.

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