Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage targeted technology investment in renewable fuels such as the use of waste cooking oils in aviation fuel.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation is currently our main support mechanism to encourage the supply of renewable fuels, including aviation fuels and those produced from waste feedstocks like used cooking oil (UCO).
The Government plans to introduce the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate in 2025, which will aim to drive demand for SAF in the UK and deliver at least 10% SAF in the jet fuel mix by 2030. The mandate will include a cap on hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF, which includes UCO. The Department is currently consulting on what level the cap should be set at.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative assessment of the merits of the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and that deployed in the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Biofuel suppliers operate in a global market and the Department considers changes to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) accordingly, in the context of many support schemes offered worldwide. As the administrator of the RTFO, the Department also participates in the Renewable Fuels Regulators Club, which includes counterparts in the Republic of Ireland, and facilitates the sharing of best practice.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including electricity for electric vehicle charging in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) is the Government’s core tool for decarbonising liquid and gaseous fuels used in road transport and non-road mobile machinery.
The Department is reviewing the impact of the Greenhouse Gas Obligation scheme, which ran from 2018 to 2020, in parallel to the RTFO, and extended to electricity used in road vehicles. The review will be published shortly.
As electrification of the road vehicle fleet progresses, the Government continues to keep under review the most appropriate mechanisms for supporting the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes a review of the potential merits of including electricity for electric vehicle charging in the RTFO.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the response to the Supporting Recycled Carbon Fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation consultation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has carefully analysed responses to the consultation “Supporting Recycled Carbon Fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation” and will be publishing the Government response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cost of low-carbon fuels, compared to diesel and kerosene, on their usage by logistics businesses.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Low Carbon Fuel Strategy, which the Department intends to publish later this year, will set out possible scenarios for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport sectors out to 2050.
The Government supports the production of low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and published a cost benefit analysis for the RTFO in 2021, but it has not undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of cost of different fuel types or the level of usage for logistics businesses.
The Department recognises the opportunities for using higher blend renewable fuels, including drop in fuels, in maximising greenhouse gas savings when used in existing vehicles. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Department is exploring potential measures to remove market barriers for use in the logistics sector.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role hydrogen could play in reducing carbon emissions associated with the logistics sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Hydrogen has an important potential role to play in decarbonising heavier applications such as HGVs. There are specific use cases where hydrogen can offer advantages over batteries, for example where vehicles need longer ranges and more rapid refuelling (longer distance HGVs) or greater energy density. The Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator programme will showcase zero emission HGV technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, at scale, on UK roads. The programme will build a strong evidence base to enable strategic, long-term, national infrastructure decisions to be made.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) supports the supply of renewable hydrogen used in transport by placing obligations on suppliers to ensure a percentage of the fuel supplied in the UK is from renewable sources where it can provide valuable carbon savings. The Government has expanded this support to include not just road vehicles, but also trains and shipping. Fuels supplied under the RTFO scheme deliver a third of domestic transport carbon savings under current carbon budgets.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on carbon emissions from logistics vehicles that would come from greater use of low-carbon drop-in fuels, compared to diesel.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Low Carbon Fuel Strategy, which the Department intends to publish later this year, will set out possible scenarios for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport sectors out to 2050.
The Government supports the production of low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and published a cost benefit analysis for the RTFO in 2021, but it has not undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of cost of different fuel types or the level of usage for logistics businesses.
The Department recognises the opportunities for using higher blend renewable fuels, including drop in fuels, in maximising greenhouse gas savings when used in existing vehicles. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Department is exploring potential measures to remove market barriers for use in the logistics sector.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the production of low-carbon fuels for all logistics transport modes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Low Carbon Fuel Strategy, which the Department intends to publish later this year, will set out possible scenarios for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport sectors out to 2050.
The Government supports the production of low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and published a cost benefit analysis for the RTFO in 2021, but it has not undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of cost of different fuel types or the level of usage for logistics businesses.
The Department recognises the opportunities for using higher blend renewable fuels, including drop in fuels, in maximising greenhouse gas savings when used in existing vehicles. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Department is exploring potential measures to remove market barriers for use in the logistics sector.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the low carbon fuels strategy.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Low Carbon Fuel Strategy, which the Department intends to publish later this year, will set out possible scenarios for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport sectors out to 2050.
The Government supports the production of low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and published a cost benefit analysis for the RTFO in 2021, but it has not undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of cost of different fuel types or the level of usage for logistics businesses.
The Department recognises the opportunities for using higher blend renewable fuels, including drop in fuels, in maximising greenhouse gas savings when used in existing vehicles. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Department is exploring potential measures to remove market barriers for use in the logistics sector.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role synthetic fuels could play in reducing carbon emissions associated with the logistics sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The forthcoming low carbon fuels strategy will cover all transport modes used by the logistics sector. Synthetic fuels can be expensive and energy-intensive to manufacture. However, they do have potential to help decarbonise transport sectors where there are limited alternatives to liquid or gaseous fuels, such as the heaviest and longest-range vehicles and aircraft.
In recognition of the potential benefits of synthetic fuels produced using renewable power, these fuels are eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme.