Sustainable Aviation welcomes the CCC report today which again acknowledges that UK aviation growth is compatible with reaching Net Zero.

We agree with the CCC that the aviation industry should bear the appropriate costs of that transition, and are working hard to keep these as low as possible to keep flying affordable for passengers and freight.
Aviation delivers enormous social and economic benefits, acting as a critical enabler of growth in the UK economy through the connectivity it brings.

Whilst we agree with the CCC on the importance of domestically produced SAF, we disagree with their assumption that nearly all SAF, including future synthetic SAF, will only come from the UK. SAF, like Jet Fuel, is a global commodity, and the CCC is applying a false constraint in limiting its modelling to UK SAF. Using appropriately certified imports will help the industry to meet the government mandate for SAF usage and enable greater passenger and freight growth than the CCC suggests.
We are working closely with government to develop the right policy framework for SAF, including widening the range of allowable feedstocks, bringing forward the introduction of the SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) and leveraging the National Wealth Fund and Advanced Fuel Fund to support UK SAF projects.

Beyond SAF, we need to accelerate airspace moderninsation and continue to invest in aerospace technology to support our world leading businesses to decarbonise not just UK, but global, aviation.

As the CCC acknowledges, the aviation industry is already making strong progress towards Net Zero, increasing passenger numbers while reducing carbon emissions.

We remain committed to working with government, the CCC and industry partners, including through the Jet Zero Taskforce and international collaborations, to ensure that aviation remains a driver of UK economic growth while delivering Net Zero by 2050.”