Decarbonising Aviation

Fleur Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Sir Gary Streeter (in the Chair)]

Before we begin, I encourage Members to wear masks when they are not speaking. This is line with Government guidance and that of the House of Commons Commission. Please give each other and members of staff space when seated and when entering and leaving the Chamber.

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered decarbonising aviation.

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Gary. I thank colleagues for taking the time to participate in this important debate, which my constituents, and no doubt those of all Members, will be watching with interest. My constituents in Putney are under the flightpath and they have plenty of opportunity to have a close connection with planes.

If we are to achieve our net zero ambition and turn the tide in the fight against climate change, we need to fight on many fronts. Aviation is a front we simply cannot retreat from. I am sure the Minister is ready with a list of the ways in which sustainable aviation fuel is going to save the aviation industry, but I hope to hear more than that: about how we can incentivise alternative ways to travel, or not travel, and a new commitment to look again at Heathrow expansion, as it is not compatible with the decarbonisation strategy published in July. Sustainable aviation fuel alone will not mean that we can head off into a new era of guilt-free flying. We must also have a reduction in flights and an associated increase in public transport, if we are to achieve net zero at the necessary speed.

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the debate. Does she agree that one of the best ways of decarbonising aviation is by reducing demand and that one of the most effective ways of doing that would be through a frequent flyer levy? Given that just 15% of people take 70% of flights, a frequent flier levy would be a fair and effective way of reducing aviation demand.

[Fleur Anderson]

I agree with the hon. Lady that we need to look at a range of ways to tackle carbon in the aviation industry. I am disappointed that the “Decarbonising Transport” paper does not include measures such as the one that she has recommended. Too often, sustainable aviation fuel is used to give the illusion of environmental action, but there is a danger of greenwashing because of an over-optimistic assessment of how quickly we can scale up alternative fuel use and how sustainable these fuels really are.

The aviation industry is vital and valued for travel, jobs, trade and connecting us to the world, but it is also responsible for about 7% of global warming and is, mile for mile, the most damaging way to travel for the climate.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. Another factor that needs to be considered is how long aircraft can be used. These vehicles are built to last, so it takes significant time before operators need to replace them or swap them out for ones that are more environmentally friendly. We know that the pandemic has led to some airlines retiring their aircraft earlier than planned, so does she agree that the Government could provide financial incentives for airlines if they choose more sustainable aircraft in the future?

[Fleur Anderson]

I agree that airlines need to be able to replace their aircraft to speed up the level of decarbonisation, so we need incentives for that as well.

A return flight from London to San Francisco emits around 5.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per person, which is more than twice the emissions produced by a family car in a year and about half the average carbon footprint of someone living in Britain. Even a return flight from London to Berlin emits around 0.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which is three times the emissions saved from a whole year of recycling.

My constituents in Putney know this all too well. We live under a major global flightpath, so we know what it is like to have thousands of tonnes of CO₂ dumped on us every day from above, and to have to suffer the noise from the aircraft. The bottom line is that to achieve net zero, moving to sustainable aviation fuel is essential, but this is an industry in its infancy. Millions of tonnes can currently be produced, but we need billons of tonnes of fuel to be produced every year to meet demand.

We cannot move to sustainable aviation fast enough, so reducing flights must be built into jet zero plans, but it is not at the moment. It will take at least two years for the airline industry to return to pre-covid levels. We should be taking this opportunity to have hard conversations with the aviation industry about sustainability in respect of not only the fuel used but the number of flights taken. We should not allow the Heathrow expansion and third runway plans to go ahead. We should make it easier, cheaper and quicker to take train journeys instead of short plane trips and build in incentives for train travel. France has banned short-haul internal flights where a train journey shorter than two and a half hours could be provided as an alternative. Where are the equivalent bold moves from the Government?

I was pleased to see the Government launch the long-awaited decarbonising transport and jet zero consultation strategies earlier this year. I was also pleased to see the “Green Fuels, Green Skies” competition have such a good take-up and produce such an innovative winner, and to see the first British Airways flight using sustainable aviation fuel just five days ago. However, I am disappointed that the Jet Zero Council has met only a handful of times since it was established last year. Just how committed is it to change within the industry? I am also disappointed with the decarbonising transport strategy. The aviation section is a house of cards: it rests on extremely optimistic assumptions and speculative technological breakthroughs, which are either in their infancy or do not yet exist. It could all fall apart very easily. There is very little policy basis.

To be clear, it is important that we invest in and enable technological innovation and breakthrough; we will not be able to achieve net zero without it. However, the focus should be on what is actually possible and can be delivered now. We need concrete policy, not a wing and a prayer. For example, the Climate Change Committee progress report recommends aviation tax reform to address the imbalances between aviation and surface transport. Will the Minister comment on whether there are plans to look into that?

Can we rely on alternative fuels? In 2010, the aviation industry pledged to source 10% of its fuels from sustainable sources by 2020—so far, so good—yet by 2018, it had managed to source a grand total of 0.002%. Sustainable aviation fuel production today is still less than 1% of overall jet fuel supply, despite being pitched by the industry as the panacea for decarbonisation. It is a wonderful feat of science and technology that the first UK commercial-scale alcohol-to-jet fuel facility has recently been commissioned to be built in Wales. However, the current global target for approximately 50% alternative jet fuel use by 2050 would require three new biojet fuel refineries to be built every single month for the next 30 years. Today, there are just two facilities.

The Government are putting their faith in the market, but the market is not delivering at the pace required to respond to the climate emergency. Airbus is developing a hydrogen plane, which may enter service in 2035, and electric flight relies on batteries that are far too heavy to be used even for short haul, let alone for long haul, so we cannot rely on those. We need a plan B. We need to know what additional policy measures will be required to deliver net zero aviation should the promised technological breakthrough not occur.

That brings me to Heathrow expansion and the need for robust plans to reduce demand for flights. To be serious about decarbonising aviation, the Government must rule out plans for expanding Heathrow. Heathrow is the largest single polluter in the UK and its emissions account for half of all UK aviation emissions. Its expansion proposals allow for 260,000 additional flights per year, on top of the existing 480,000. That would pump between 8 and 9 megatonnes of extra carbon per year into our atmosphere. It will require operational restrictions at other UK airports as well, if the UK is to stay within the carbon budget. That is hardly levelling up. In fact, even the mere act of constructing the runway and the works associated with that are expected to result in an additional 3.7 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions up to 2050. Moreover, neither Heathrow nor the Department for Transport have comprehensively considered the non-CO₂ impacts of Heathrow’s expansion proposals, which would have a significant impact on the climate.

The long-haul journeys that make up 80% of aviation emissions from Heathrow, and that would make up the overwhelming majority of the additional 260,000 flights per year that would depart from the expanded Heathrow, will not be affected at all by the technological breakthrough in sustainable aviation fuel. There is no avoiding it: expanding Heathrow will guarantee a huge increase in kerosene burn, and the chances of the technological breakthrough needed are slim indeed.

I am sure that many colleagues here in Westminster Hall have followed the legal wrangling and the twists and turns surrounding the third runway. Frankly, this is a question that should never have entered the courts—why has it even got there? Any Government who were serious about achieving net zero would not entertain for a second the notion of an expanded Heathrow. Such a notion is fundamentally at odds with the Government’s own climate commitments and with the Environment Bill that they hope—one day—to pass. It is embarrassing that these plans were again given the green light in the year that we are hosting COP26, and that is not even considering the impact of the noise and the increased carbon dump over the green spaces and people of constituencies such as my constituency of Putney.

It is really simple: either Heathrow can be expanded or net zero aviation can be pursued. It is not possible to have both. At the very least, the Government should initiate a review of the airports national policy statement. However, if they are serious about decarbonising aviation, I hope that the Minister who is here in Westminster Hall today will announce that they will rule out Heathrow expansion all together.

I conclude by putting three questions to the Minister. First, what is the Jet Zero Council’s plan B? If the technological breakthroughs do not happen and sustainable aviation fuel cannot be produced and delivered quickly enough, then what? Secondly, why is the Department for Transport refusing to consider how to disincentivise frequent business travel by plane and make it easier, quicker and cheaper to take the train for short journeys instead of flying, and to reduce long-haul journeys, as was recommended by the Climate Change Committee in its 2021 progress report?

Finally, will the Minister commit to review the ANPS before COP26 later this year, rather than waiting until the jet zero strategy is finalised? Will he also commit to including an assessment of Heathrow expansion in that review? And will he join me and the Prime Minister in lying down in front of the bulldozers should the policy statement remain in place?

The climate crisis is here; it is now and it is real. There is no room for conjecture, complacency or cop-outs. Decarbonising aviation requires decisive action now, not deferred solutions that may not even come to pass. I really hope that the Minister listens closely to the whole of the debate today and to the concerns that are raised, and ensures that the jet zero strategy is realistic and consistent, and contains the bold policy interventions required to deliver our decarbonisation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fleur Anderson]

I thank the Minister and all Members who have contributed to a very important, timely and strong debate, with many points for the Minister to take away and new ideas on how to go about meeting this challenging opportunity. There is a high awareness among the public that they want to do the right thing when they are flying. That has come through loud and clear; our constituents could not be more sure of that. They are looking to the Government for leadership on this issue.

There are exciting opportunities for us to lead the world in research and development for new sustainable fuels. We are looking at those being delivered in the 2040s, but they are not here now. What do we do about the emissions that are happening now? What do we do now about the damage being caused to the environment? We have to look again at reducing demand right now, until we have established that we can deliver on sustainable aviation.

That could be the carrot with the stick to present to airports. We could say, “You can expand but only if you can show that you can be sustainable along the way.” I look for more leadership on that. I look forward to the Minister returning to his desk with the loud, clear message that we do not want to see an expansion of Heathrow. Its expansion would undermine all the other extra work that is going on towards jet zero. I understand that he is not able to comment now, but I look forward to a new comment being made before COP26 that firmly rules out the expansion of Heathrow.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered decarbonising aviation.