Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on sustainable jet fuels in decarbonising aviation; and what assessment he has made of the potential for sustainable jet fuels to create green jobs.

To reduce the carbon emissions from aviation, the Government supports a range of measures, including efficiency improvements in technology, operations and air traffic management, use of sustainable aviation fuels and market based measures.

The Government is encouraging the production and use of sustainable alternative aviation fuels in the UK. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) rewards renewable aviation fuels in the form of tradeable certificates. Since 2015, £11.5m of government money has been invested in the research and development of low carbon fuels, with £1.8m of this being for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAF has received less research and development funding than other areas of aviation because the technology to produce SAF already exists.

Additionally, the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (the F4C) makes up to £20 million of capital funding available to projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels to be used in aeroplanes and lorries. Analysis commissioned by the Department for the F4C suggests that the competition could stimulate up to 9,800 jobs by 2030, of which some will be involved in the SAF industry.

The Government is considering policies it can put in place to further assist the long-term uptake of sustainable aviation fuels. The upcoming aviation consultation on reaching net zero in the aviation sector will provide an opportunity to test such further policies.