A coalition of Conservative MPs is taking on Greta Thunberg and the flight-shaming movement by pushing for new policies that would allow families to jet away on “guilt-free” holidays.
Former transport ministers Chris Grayling, Stephen Hammond and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, are among 25 MPs, peers and MSPs calling for green taxes to be channelled into the production and use of sustainable aviation fuels.
A faster transition towards airlines using sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF, will allow the UK to hit environmental goals “without forcing people to give up flying”, the group says.
In a manifesto entitled “Taking flight: a policy route to achieving jet zero”, the Tory MPs call on ministers to launch a contracts for difference (CfD) scheme - similar to that used to promote development of renewable energy sources such as wind farms.
Mr Courts, aviation minister under Boris Johnson, said: “Telling people they can't go on foreign holidays or visit family abroad would undermine support for net zero. We need to look to innovation, technology and competition to solve this problem, not restrictions to ground people for good.”
Fellow signatory, Henry Smith, MP for Crawley and chairman of the future of aviation APPG, added: “It would be wrong to turn back the clock on aviation, shrink this successful industry, and make it harder to travel within the UK and abroad to achieve our climate goals.
“I urge the Government to adopt the ideas within this manifesto to support the development of sustainable aviation fuel and other innovative technologies to spur progress toward zero-emission flights.”