UK SAF mandate approved by House of Commons
The UK House of Commons approved the draft Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024 unopposed with support from both sides of the house.
The order was laid before the house in July 2024 and now needs to be approved by the House of Lords before becoming a law. The SAF mandate will come into force in January 2025.
Mike Kane, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, while presenting the draft said that: “SAF is one of the most effective ways of starting to decarbonise flights … The SAF mandate will support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry by creating demand for SAF in the UK.”
The UK, which confirmed the mandate in April 2024, said it reached on the target after extensive consultations with the industry. It said the ambitious mandate will see around 1.2m tonnes of SAF supplied to the UK airline industry each year.
Responding to a question from Shadow Minister Greg Smith on the plans for eSAF, Under-Secretary Kane said the power-to-liquid pathway (eSAF) is the future of SAF in the country.
“We will have to meet to reduce the HEFA and improve power to liquid .. The UK does not want to be at a competitive disadvantage, which is why we have carefully balanced the HEFA cap in a way that recognises that HEFA is, currently, the only commercially available type of SAF, but that does not mean that we cannot go further and faster,” said Under-Secretary Kane.
Moreover, in response to questions, Under-Secretary Kane said that the government recognise the cost impact of using SAF in flights. However, he clarified that the additional costs will be paid by polluters instead of the government.
He explained that, by 2030, airplane ticket prices to be £4 more, which will be a 2% increase, and by 2040, we expect them to be £10 more, which will be a 5.5% increase.
He further added that the government is committed to supporting the industry via incentives such as the advanced fuel fund which currently supports 13 UK plants with £135m of grant funding.
Kane said that the government is introducing a Revenue Support Mechanism bill to support SAF producers who are seeking to invest in new plants in the UK. It will incentivise investment in UK SAF production, helping to drive growth across the UK, secure the supply of British-made SAF, and maintain the UK’s position as a global leader
Almost all of the political parties in the country had shown their commitment to support the UK SAF mandate in the run-up to the elections held in July earlier this year.