A cross party letter, supported by 35 MPs from across the political spectrum in the UK, have called on the Government to supercharge investment in aviation decarbonisation and drive a green recovery.
The letter was sponsored by Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady and Labour MP Catherine McKinnell as co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Aviation and has been backed by MPs from the Conservative, Labour, SNP, and Lib Dem benches.
The MPs call for Government to provide £500 million in industry-matched funding for early stage sustainable aviation fuel facilities, increase funding for R&D of new cleaner aircraft, and accelerate the modernisation on UK airspace.
Please see below for some useful quotes on the letter, including from Sir Graham Brady, who coordinated the letter, Henrik Wareborn, the CEO of Velocys who are working on the UK’s first waste-to-jet-fuel facility in Immingham which recently received planning permission, and Martin Vickers who is the constituency MP for the site in Immingham.
Commenting on the letter was Sir Graham Brady, who coordinated the letter, who is the Chair of the APPG on Sustainable Aviation said: “Decarbonising aviation is going to be a crucial step in meeting our net zero ambitions, but it also offers an opportunity to make Britain a world leader in new technologies. As we emerge from lockdown, support for the aviation industry can drive a sustainable recovery, so that as the Prime Minister says, we can ‘build back greener’. This means building a sustainable aviation fuels industry in the UK, a here-and-now technology that can create jobs and add billions to our economy.”
Henrik Wareborn, the CEO of Velocys which are working on the UK’s first waste-to-jet-fuel facility in Immingham, said: “The Prime Minister said he wanted the UK to build the world’s first zero-emission long-haul passenger plane. In fact, our planned waste-to-sustainable aviation fuel facility in North East Lincolnshire could be fuelling Transatlantic flights in just five years’ time without the need to modify aircrafts or engines at all. Velocys has the technology, already demonstrated at commercial scale, and such fuel allows a seamless transition towards net zero lifecycle emissions. We encourage the Government to support getting the first few production facilities off the ground and sustainable aviation fuel in the air in significant commercial volumes by the second half of this decade.”
Commenting on its own move to next zero carbon emissions, Alex Cruz, Chief Executive of BA said: “We are investing in a range of initiatives to meet our commitment, including flying new, more fuel-efficient aircraft and the development of sustainable aviation fuels, which will play a crucial role in the future of global aviation. Alongside our partners, Velocys and Shell, we are developing the UK’s first waste to jet fuel plant in Immingham, Humberside converting 500,000 tons of waste that would otherwise go to landfill into 50 million litres of sustainable jet fuel every year, which will help to power our aircraft for years to come. This remains a priority and we will continue to ensure that our future is sustainable.”