The UK Government’s Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has reiterated his support for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) during an interview, saying, “If you’re going to fly around domestically, you will need to use sustainable aviation fuels”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme following the publication of Sir Peter Hendy’s Interim Report on the Union Connectivity Review, Shapps told listeners that sustainable aviation is “not as far away as people think. Sustainable aviation fuel is already a reality.”
He said that decarbonisation was central to the UK Government’s agenda. “We’re about to produce the world’s first Transport Decarbonisation Plan which will look at our overall output of carbon – transport is the biggest contributor of all to carbon in this country now, nearly a third of it – and making sure we’re cutting that to zero so that by 2050 we are at net zero. Because we are leading the world in many of these areas.”
Velocys’ sustainable fuels technology will have a key role to play in facilitating the aviation sector’s move to net zero. SAF represents the here-and-now solution to aviation decarbonisation, requiring no modifications to existing aircraft or refuelling infrastructure. Appropriate policy support from the Government will help ensure that the UK becomes a world leader in SAF technologies.
The Transport Secretary’s comments can be listened to in full here (at 2.35).
11 September 2024
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