Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 50
Furthermore, while long-haul aviation and international shipping are often identified as the most likely users...
Recommendation
Furthermore, while long-haul aviation and international shipping are often identified as the most likely users of sustainable fuels, we believe that the Government must open-mindedly consider all alternative fuels for all modes of powered transport, including private cars.
Government Response Summary
The government recognizes the merit in encouraging the deployment of drop-in sustainable fuels. However they state there are limitations to this and see low carbon fuels in the longer term as having an increasingly important role in the decarbonisation of transport sectors where there are limited alternatives to liquid or gaseous fuels, such as aviation and maritime.
Paragraph Reference:
50
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government recognises the merit in encouraging the deployment of drop-in sustainable fuels, and the importance of decarbonising vehicles on the road today. The Government does not agree with the statement that sustainable fuels currently supplied operate in a misleading legislative framework or that it is engaged in demonising specific decarbonisation technologies. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme is well established and respected. Since 2008 it has set targets for the supply of renewable fuels in transport, and required minimum greenhouse gas reduction thresholds as part of strict sustainability criteria which low carbon fuels must meet. The RTFO scheme directs future investments by providing additional rewards for development fuels. Development fuels are made from sustainable wastes or renewable energy and include fuels such as aviation fuels, the majority of drop-in fuels, and renewable hydrogen. The RTFO scheme also provides support for some synthetic fuels produced using renewable energy which are not development fuels. The Government is proposing further support for power-to-liquid (PtL) synthetic fuels in its forthcoming Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate scheme to accelerate their commercial advancement. Drop-in fuels are supplied in high blends as a direct replacement for fossil fuels. The constraints on drop-in fuels are their cost and availability, not the absence of a credible legislative mechanism to support their wider deployment in road transport. The RTFO is continually kept under review to ensure that it is delivering cost effective carbon savings in line with UK climate change commitments. The Government is open minded on alternative fuels and will continue to be so in setting out a strategy for low carbon fuels later this year. The strategy will further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050. The strategy includes the consideration of the low carbon transport fuel infrastructure requirements of the future, with the aim to maximise the opportunities presented by the upcoming transition and mitigate the risk of stranded assets. Low carbon fuels will continue to play an important role in decarbonising transport but there are limitations on some of the potential options. Synthetic fuels can be expensive and energy intensive to manufacture. Additionally, drop-in sustainable fuels do not compare favourably with electric vehicles when considering air quality pollutants. Therefore, low carbon fuel technologies in the longer term are seen as having an increasingly important role in the decarbonisation of transport sectors where there are limited alternatives to liquid or gaseous fuels, such as aviation and maritime. They could also have role in niche applications, such as for classic and historic vehicles.