Government inclusion of aviation into carbon budgets heralds the beginning of the end for fossil-fuelled aviation
The UK is to become the first major economy to extend its legal ‘net zero’ emissions commitment to departing international flights, including international aviation and shipping in the Sixth Carbon Budget. AEF Deputy Director Cait Hewitt said: “This should mark the beginning of the end for fossil-fuelled aviation. After many years of slipping the net when it comes to climate change, and expecting special privileges, airlines will now need to start planning for a very different future. Including international aviation in UK climate law gives a strong message from ministers that all sectors of the UK economy need to be on the same path towards net zero emissions. Now the Government will need to make sure that’s delivered.” The Government is expected to consult next month on what measures it plans to introduce to put aviation onto a path of cutting CO2. Options it will need to consider include the setting of annual emissions targets for airlines; a review of policy on airport expansions; and new financial measures to limit flying demand such as an air miles tax. So far, the aviation industry has primarily focused on carbon offsetting as a way to attempt to negate carbon emissions – and aspirations for low carbon flight … many years into the future.
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END OF ERA FOR FOSSIL-FUELLED AVIATION IN THE UK AS GOVERNMENT LEGISLATES TO CAP EMISSIONS FROM FLYING INTERNATIONALLY
19th April, 2021
By the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF)
The UK is to become the first major economy to extend its legal ‘net zero’ emissions commitment to departing international flights, the Government is expected to announce tomorrow. [It did make the announcement – link ]
Despite decades of talk from the aviation industry about tackling the sector’s climate impacts, emissions from UK aviation were higher in 2019, just before the pandemic, than ever before, and aviation’s share of national emissions has been growing steadily as other sectors have begun to decarbonise. While some airlines and airports have made climate pledges, until now there has been no means of holding them to account for these aspirations.
AEF Deputy Director Cait Hewitt said:
“This should mark the beginning of the end for fossil-fuelled aviation. After many years of slipping the net when it comes to climate change, and expecting special privileges, airlines will now need to start planning for a very different future.
“Including international aviation in UK climate law gives a strong message from ministers that all sectors of the UK economy need to be on the same path towards net zero emissions. Now the Government will need to make sure that’s delivered.”
The Government is expected to consult next month on what measures it plans to introduce to put aviation onto a path of cutting emissions. Options it will need to consider include the setting of annual emissions targets for airlines; a review of policy on airport expansions; new financial measures to limit flying demand such as an air miles tax; and measures to support staff currently employed in aviation to transition to green jobs where appropriate.
So far, the aviation industry has primarily focused on carbon offsetting as its response to climate change but this approach won’t be enough to deliver the legal net zero target. More meaningful action from the industry could include ramping up R&D into zero carbon energy options for aviation (synthetic fuel using captured CO2 is theoretically possible to manufacture, for example, but is currently only at the testing stage) and a plan to deliver carbon capture and storage of remaining emissions. This is not a popular option and has proved very hard to put into practice so far but it’s likely to be essential.
Public concern about climate change has remained high throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Nearly half of UK residents say that they plan to fly less in future[1]. And with businesses having seen the benefits of online meetings and many firms having made their own climate pledges, demand for business flights may never return to their pre-pandemic levels.
—ENDS—
Notes to editor:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-climate-idUSL8N2FE3D3
[2] AEF has campaigned for inclusion of IAS in carbon budgets. See more https://www.aef.org.uk/2021/03/02/aef-briefing-why-international-aviation-and-shipping-emissions-should-be-included-in-the-sixth-carbon-budget/
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See earlier:
UK to include international aviation and shipping in carbon budgets, and aim for overall UK 78% CO2 cut by 2050
In December 2020 the Climate Change Committee (CCC) published its guidance for the UK government on its Sixth Carbon Budget, for the period 2033 – 37, and how to reach net-zero by 2050. That included the recommendation on aviation that there should be no net airport expansion, and that international aviation and shipping (IAS) should be fully included in the carbon budgets. Now the government has accepted many of their recommendations, including that the UK should cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035. This is 15 years earlier than had been the original goal. The CCC recommended that IAS should be properly within carbon budgets; also that the target for aviation, instead of being allowed to emit 37.5MtCO2 per year by 2050, should be reduced to 23MtCO2 by 2050, following the BNZ (balanced net zero) pathway. There is no commitment yet by government to insist on that reduction. It would mean a large amount of UK engineered greenhouse gas removals by 2050 having to be assigned to making the aviation sector net-zero. People would have to pay for the carbon they emit being removed, rather than just “fly-tipped into the atmosphere”, which would make flying more expensive. Ways (taxation?) will be needed to make that fair.