Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Deferred
Paragraph: 78
Maintain and enhance engagement with aviation for 2% annual CO2 reduction monitoring.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government sustain and enhance its engagement with the aviation industry on the delivery of operational efficiencies from current and future fleets of aircraft operating through the UK, to maintain the ambition to secure 2% year- on-year CO2 emissions reductions from fuel and operational efficiencies. The delivery of these reductions must be rigorously monitored against an established baseline: should the rate of progress in reductions fall behind 2%, the potential contribution of system efficiencies to meeting the 2050 net zero target must be urgently reassessed.
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, but focuses instead on its aspiration for zero-emission domestic routes by 2030 and a net-zero target for UK domestic aviation by 2040. It also outlines significant funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme to support low and zero-carbon aircraft technology development.
Paragraph Reference:
78
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government partially agrees with this recommendation. In the Jet Zero Strategy Government committed to ensuring the UK is at the forefront of deploying zero emission aircraft, with an aspiration to have zero emission routes connecting different parts of the United Kingdom by 2030. Zero emission aircraft are emerging with a range of hydrogen aircraft development and test programmes underway globally. In addition, certified all-electric pilot training aircraft are already in use. We are keen to accelerate the development of these aircraft and welcome industry ambition to scale up the technology to larger commercial passenger usage. The Government have also set an earlier target for UK domestic aviation to reach net zero by 2040. Whilst we recognise that domestic aviation accounts for only a small proportion of our overall emissions from aviation, this target is an important stepping-stone on our way to achieving Jet Zero. Technologies needed to decarbonise international flights may be available earlier for shorter, domestic routes, and we see this target as acting to incentivise the adoption of low, and zero emission fuels and technology in the UK. A Government funded research project on the 2040 target was completed in 2023, will be published in due course, and we will be using this as the basis for a forthcoming call for evidence. The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. The Programme will receive £685m of government funding between 2022 and 2025, and a further £975m between 2025 and 2030.