The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has deemed the UK aviation industry’s decarbonisation journey to be progressing “significantly slower” than other sectors in the country.
Referencing a report released by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2022, the aviation sector would not fully decarbonise in any of the scenarios presented for the UK to reach net zero. However, the report did note that the most ambitious scenario did lead to around 200 million tonnes of carbon emissions being mitigated, around 90% less than the baseline “do nothing” scenario tested.
Crucially, the EAC stated in its new paper, named Net zero and the UK aviation sector, that aviation’s journey to decarbonisation is “nevertheless substantially slower than that of many other sectors of the economy”.
Because of this, the aviation sector continues to be one of the heaviest polluters globally. Indeed, 47% of all carbon emissions from the global aviation sector have been emitted after the year 2000, as shown in the graph below.
It is important to note that, under the statutory Climate Change Act 2008, emissions from international flights are not yet formally included in the targets; however, the government has sought to include international aviation in the Sixth Carbon Budget, the interim emissions target the UK is required to reach by 2037.
Various technologies have been proposed and explored to decarbonise the aviation sector, including the use of batteries, but due to weight limitations, this continues to limit the adoption of the technology. Instead, attention has turned to the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen, particularly in its fuel cell and liquid hydrogen forms.
The emergence of hydrogen, in particular, means it is being touted as a potential fuel source for aircraft. Europe and the UK have established partnerships to create supply chains for the energy carrier around airports, essentially creating a “hub” for hydrogen technologies.
In July 2023, ZeroAvia completed an initial prototype flight testing campaign for a hydrogen-electric powertrain, dubbed ZA600, at Cotswold Airport in the UK. The powertrain was fitted to a Dornier 228 aeroplane and thus has been deemed a breakthrough in developing cross-country flights using green hydrogen.
Key recommendations and fears
The EAC deemed in its conclusion section of the report that the inclusion of aviation in the Sixth Carbon Budget was “welcome”; however, the organisation is concerned that the legislation to give effect to this commitment has not been brought forward for approval by Parliament, over two and a half years since the commitment was organically made.
As such, the EAC has called on the government to “lay before Parliament for approval, without further delay, a draft statutory instrument under section 30 of the Climate Change Act 2008 to define the emissions from international aviation and international shipping which are to be reckoned as emissions from sources in the UK”.
There is also a need to provide a “considerable effort” in research and development activity to achieve a target of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) of a 0.5% year-on-year improvement in fuel efficiency. Doing so will reduce the fuel used during flight and, in turn, lower general emissions.
Another notable recommendation is the recognition of the Jet Zero Strategy, a paper outlining ways to reach net zero emissions in the aviation sector by 2050. The EAC noted that, despite being consistent with a policy of promoting the UK aviation industry, it still carries a degree of risk.
As such, the scenario, which the EAC deemed as “highly ambitious,” must be followed through with “vigour and conviction” to ensure delivery. Failure to do so will result in the UK falling behind in its delivery of emissions reductions.
