The UK is at danger of missing its target to deliver a net zero emission aviation industry unless it rapidly accelerates the development of a domestic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry.
That is the central conclusion of a new manifesto from the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) titled Taking Flight: A policy route to achieving jet zero, which argues the government should reject calls from campaigners to curtail demand for flights and instead redouble efforts to develop green aviation fuels and technologies.
"Telling people they can't go on foreign holidays or visit family abroad would undermine support for net zero," said Robert Courts, a former Aviation Minister and a member of the CEN caucus of Tory MPs. "We need to look to innovation, technology and competition to solve this problem, not restrictions to ground people for good. This manifesto shows how we can replicate the Contracts for Difference scheme, which successfully scaled up British offshore wind, to shape the future of flying and ensure the UK is home to this net zero industry."