Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the public purse of the Royal Air Force transitioning to 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2040; and whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the long-term fiscal implications of sustainable or synthetic aviation fuel prices for Defence aviation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) procures its aviation fuel in the UK from commercial suppliers at market rates. As a result, this makes accurate long-term cost forecasting challenging. The price of aviation fuel, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), is subject to market fluctuations, and the level of RAF fuel consumption varies due to numerous factors.
The RAF has not committed to transitioning to 100% SAF by 2040. The RAF will follow the incremental transition to sustainable aviation fuel as set out in the UK Government's SAF mandate, which requires aviation fuel to contain 22% SAF by 2040. This date aligns with the RAF's aim to become a net-zero air force.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what schemes and programmes her Department has in place to help support zero-emission in (a) shipping and (b) aviation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission maritime vessels and aircraft could provide.
The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out our policies and commitments to decarbonise the sector. We are already meeting these commitments through the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime from July 2026, and we will consult on maritime fuel regulations later this year.
We have announced a further £448 million of funding of the UK SHORE programme, the biggest government investment ever in the UK’s commercial maritime sector, which will unlock innovation and investment potential in UK technologies, ports and shipyards.
We will continue to work closely with maritime industry partners to help the sector unlock the investment it needs to transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels and technologies.
We have already made significant progress on aviation decarbonisation, with considerable support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), airspace modernisation and development of new technologies.
Alongside other measures, zero emission flight has a role to play in decarbonising the sector. In January, we announced up to £43m of R&D funding for aviation decarbonisation, including confirming our continued support of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge. This is informing the development of a regulatory framework for zero-emission hydrogen aircraft. Also, the Department for Transport (DfT) will publish shortly a report into the barriers and opportunities to commercialising hydrogen in aviation, completed by a Jet Zero Taskforce Task and Finish Group.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for UK hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to contribute to the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as (a) heavy machinery and (b) heavy transport.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government expects hydrogen to play a role in decarbonising applications where there are limited alternatives such as maritime, aviation, and off-road machinery. This includes through use as a fuel directly, in a fuel cell, and to produce other low-carbon fuels such as ammonia, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Government plans to publish a renewed Hydrogen Strategy in early 2026 to sharpen our priorities, deepen industry collaboration, and unlock the full potential of hydrogen over the next decade.
The Department has long supported the research, development, and deployment of hydrogen‑powered transport, including through ensuring hydrogen is eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate, through the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator, the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, and the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas programme.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78707, whether her Department has made a recent updated estimate of the additional cost per passenger per flight arising from the requirement for airlines to use 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answers I gave on 20 October, 23 October and 5 November 2025 to PQs UIN78707, UIN83374 and UIN85910.
The estimated costs of the requirement were assessed and published prior to the introduction of the SAF mandate in January last year. We will monitor the market to update our assumptions where necessary and to inform formal reviews.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of permitting crop-based biofuels to be eligible under the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate on investment in (1) waste-based biofuels, and (2) e-fuels.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 22 December 2025 the Department for Transport published a call for evidence to gather views and update our evidence base on crop-derived sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The call for evidence will improve our understanding of the impacts and interactions of deploying crop feedstocks in SAF on feedstock availability, industrial development, and on sustainability. This will include considering the impact on food prices, biodiversity, and investment in waste-based biofuels and e-fuels.
This reflects our commitment to ensure our policies are informed by the best and most recent evidence. The call for evidence does not propose any changes to the SAF Mandate. In the light of the responses to the call for evidence, should there be a case to review the feedstock eligibility criteria, it would be subject to consultation before any legislative change.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of permitting crop-based biofuels to be eligible under the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate on (a) food prices, and (b) biodiversity.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 22 December 2025 the Department for Transport published a call for evidence to gather views and update our evidence base on crop-derived sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The call for evidence will improve our understanding of the impacts and interactions of deploying crop feedstocks in SAF on feedstock availability, industrial development, and on sustainability. This will include considering the impact on food prices, biodiversity, and investment in waste-based biofuels and e-fuels.
This reflects our commitment to ensure our policies are informed by the best and most recent evidence. The call for evidence does not propose any changes to the SAF Mandate. In the light of the responses to the call for evidence, should there be a case to review the feedstock eligibility criteria, it would be subject to consultation before any legislative change.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of how much fuel lifecycle Greenhouse Gas emissions will be reduced within the next four years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold overall forecasts for lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of fuels. Projections for the lifecycle emissions impact of individual low carbon fuels policies are primarily set out in their associated cost-benefit analyses such as that published in 2024 before the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate was introduced or published in March 2025 for the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.
The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, published 29 October, included detail on policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuels used in surface transport and aviation, and estimates of the emission reductions they would achieve. These projections are on the basis of the carbon accounting protocol used to produce the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, rather than lifecycle GHG emissions savings. For surface transport, this analysis estimated an 18.0 MtCO2e reduction in emissions between 2025 and 2030 (17% reduction). For aviation, this analysis estimated a 3.3 MtCO2e reduction in emissions between 2025 and 2030 (9% reduction).
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how she is engaging with aviation workers and their unions about increasing the sustainability of aviation policy, including through the the Airports National Policy Statement review (ANPS) and its review of the Jet Zero strategy; and will she consider deliberative and participatory consultation methods such as a Workers' or Citizens' Assembly.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering greener transport and we are making significant progress in supporting aviation to become more sustainable. The government engages with the aviation sector and trade unions on aviation decarbonisation, including via the Jet Zero Taskforce. The Taskforce aims to identify, and advise on, unblocking key barriers to delivering greener aviation.
On 4 December 2025, I met the aviation sector Trade Unions and made clear my support for decarbonisation and addressing the skills gap.
Any proposed changes to policy in the Airports National Policy Statement as a result of the ongoing review will be subject to public consultation in summer 2026, providing the opportunity for aviation workers and their unions to respond. We have also recently published our approach to stakeholder engagement which sets out how we intend to gather a broad range of views as part of the review, which can be found here: Engagement during the Airports National Policy Statement review - GOV.UK
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what has been the change in the volume of sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We do not hold statistics on volumes of SAF produced in the UK. SAF volumes are reported to the Department by fuel suppliers to discharge their obligations under the SAF mandate, and between 2019 and 2024, under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). SAF is not yet produced globally at a large scale. In the UK the only commercial scale SAF producer is at Phillips 66’s Humberside refinery.
Looking forward, the Government is taking decisive action to scale up UK SAF production. From 1 January 2025, the SAF mandate came into effect, setting a clear trajectory for growth – 10% of UK aviation fuel is required to be SAF by 2030 and 22% by 2040. To help deliver this, £63 million in grant funding has been allocated through the Advanced Fuels Fund for the current year to support UK SAF plants, with continued support for SAF production through to 2029/30. We have also introduced a SAF Bill that will establish a Revenue Certainty Mechanism, giving investors confidence to build and operate SAF facilities in the UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the revenues generated from the ending of free allowances under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation; and whether she plans to allocate those revenues to support the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK ETS Authority announced in July 2023 that free allocation would end for the Aviation sector in 2026, after considering stakeholder feedback which largely supported the finding that removing aviation free allocation did not pose a significant risk to carbon leakage.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility is responsible for forecasting receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and has published its methodology for forecasting ETS receipts on its website.
Receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for the aviation sector.
The UK Government is supporting the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry by building demand through the SAF Mandate, supporting first-of-a-kind SAF production plants through the Advanced Fuels Fund, and derisking SAF projects by introducing legislation for the Revenue Certainty Mechanism. In 2025, the government announced £400,000 to get new fuels to market quicker, delivering on the UK’s clean energy ambitions and powering up economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.