Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the second National Infrastructure Report, published on 18 October 2023, what progress his Department has made on responding to the recommendation to (a) review action on transport decarbonisation annually and (b) develop adaptive policies in case of a future shortfall.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government set out its plan for decarbonising transport in its 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which we have continued to build on since. We regularly review our transport decarbonisation policies to ensure we are on track to deliver our projected carbon savings and are committed to publishing our progress and reviewing our net zero pathway at least every five years.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to introduce new measures to help reduce emissions from surface transport by 2030.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In March 2023, the Government published an internationally unprecedented level of detail on its plans to meet emission reduction commitments, including those from surface transport. The Carbon Budget Delivery Plan sets out the policies and quantified carbon reductions needed to meet carbon budgets 4 and 5, and the vast majority of reductions needed to meet our commitments into the 2030s. The Department regularly reviews transport’s decarbonisation policies to ensure we are on track, and are committed to publishing our progress and reviewing our net zero pathway at least every five years.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received representations from the Climate Change Committee on the viability and likelihood of success of the decarbonisation pathways in the Jet Zero Strategy.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
In July 2021, we published the Jet Zero Consultation which set out our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050. The approach set out in the consultation focused on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel and maximises the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring for the UK.
We published a further technical consultation in March 2022, and our analysis in both consultations showed that the sector can achieve Jet Zero without the Government needing to intervene directly to limit aviation growth, with scenarios that can achieve our net zero targets by focusing on new fuels and technology, with knock-on economic and social benefits.
We are carefully considering responses to both consultations in the development of the final Jet Zero Strategy, which we are aiming to publish later this year.
As a responsible government, we recognise that we will need to keep our forthcoming Jet Zero Strategy under review and therefore we intend to assess progress on the sector’s emission reduction pathway and update our strategy where necessary through five-year reviews
Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport meet regularly with members of the Climate Change Committee, and we will consider recommendations from their June 2022 progress report in further detail in the coming months.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of the recommendation on managing aviation demand on page 350 of the Climate Change Committee's June 2022 progress report.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
In July 2021, we published the Jet Zero Consultation which set out our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050. The approach set out in the consultation focused on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel and maximises the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring for the UK.
We published a further technical consultation in March 2022, and our analysis in both consultations showed that the sector can achieve Jet Zero without the Government needing to intervene directly to limit aviation growth, with scenarios that can achieve our net zero targets by focusing on new fuels and technology, with knock-on economic and social benefits.
We are carefully considering responses to both consultations in the development of the final Jet Zero Strategy, which we are aiming to publish later this year.
As a responsible government, we recognise that we will need to keep our forthcoming Jet Zero Strategy under review and therefore we intend to assess progress on the sector’s emission reduction pathway and update our strategy where necessary through five-year reviews
Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport meet regularly with members of the Climate Change Committee, and we will consider recommendations from their June 2022 progress report in further detail in the coming months.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations in their report published on 29 June 2022, for the Jet Zero Strategy.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We will consider recommendations from the Climate Change Committee’s June 2022 progress report in further detail as we finalise and implement our Jet Zero Strategy.
Ministers and officials regularly meet with members of the CCC and considered recommendations from their June 2021 progress report in the development of the Jet Zero Consultation which was published in July 2021 and considered all available evidence for the development of the Jet Zero Strategy, which we are aiming to publish later this year.
As a responsible government, we recognise that we will need to keep our strategy under review and therefore, intend to regularly assess the progress of aviation’s emissions reductions and update our strategy where necessary through five-year reviews.
Our ambition is to decarbonise aviation in a way that preserves the benefits of air travel.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the £180 million funding for the development of alternative aviation fuel plants announced in the Net Zero Strategy, what assessment his Department made of the potential merits of requiring the aviation industry to (a) fund, (b) match-fund and (c) partly fund the development of alternative fuels; and what meetings officials in his Department have had with recipients of that funding over the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The £180m funding announced in the Net Zero Strategy, to help accelerate the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK, includes £168m of funding for a multi-year competition for funding to produce advanced fuels suitable for aviation and heavy goods vehicles. A further £12m is allocated for the continuation of our SAF clearing house project to accelerate new SAF to the market. SAF is a vital tool in decarbonising aviation and helping the UK reach our net zero goals by 2050.
The department is now developing the eligibility criteria of the new SAF competition, building upon the progress made by, and lessons learnt from, the previous advanced fuels competitions, namely the Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition (ABDC), the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C) and the recent Green Fuels, Green Skies (GFGS) competition. As with the previous successful competitions, the design process will utilise the knowledge and experience of the wider sector, working with existing and prospective SAF producers. It is likely that minimum greenhouse gas savings will be a requirement of receiving funding. Funding will be allocated competitively in line with previous competitions.
No assessment has yet been made as to the balance of funding between industry and Government for the new competition.
DfT officials engage regularly with all the projects eligible for government funding, both through bilateral meetings and as part of regular industry engagement activities. Since its launch in November 2020, over 25 meetings of the Jet Zero Council SAF Delivery Group and its subgroups have been convened.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the £180 million funding for the development of alternative aviation fuel plants in the Net Zero Strategy, what that funding will be spent on; which companies will receive that funding; and whether receipt of that funding will be linked to, or be conditional on, achieving systems-level emissions reductions from aviation.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The £180m funding announced in the Net Zero Strategy, to help accelerate the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK, includes £168m of funding for a multi-year competition for funding to produce advanced fuels suitable for aviation and heavy goods vehicles. A further £12m is allocated for the continuation of our SAF clearing house project to accelerate new SAF to the market. SAF is a vital tool in decarbonising aviation and helping the UK reach our net zero goals by 2050.
The department is now developing the eligibility criteria of the new SAF competition, building upon the progress made by, and lessons learnt from, the previous advanced fuels competitions, namely the Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition (ABDC), the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C) and the recent Green Fuels, Green Skies (GFGS) competition. As with the previous successful competitions, the design process will utilise the knowledge and experience of the wider sector, working with existing and prospective SAF producers. It is likely that minimum greenhouse gas savings will be a requirement of receiving funding. Funding will be allocated competitively in line with previous competitions.
No assessment has yet been made as to the balance of funding between industry and Government for the new competition.
DfT officials engage regularly with all the projects eligible for government funding, both through bilateral meetings and as part of regular industry engagement activities. Since its launch in November 2020, over 25 meetings of the Jet Zero Council SAF Delivery Group and its subgroups have been convened.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Global Travel Taskforce report to the Prime Minister on international travel of 12 April 2021, whether the report or its findings or recommendations will be published; and when the Global Travel Taskforce will next report after that.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The “Report of the Global Travel Taskforce: The Safe Return of International Travel” was published on 9 April 2021. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-travel-taskforce-safe-return-of-international-travel
The report and its annexes have also been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2021 to Question 140207 on the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, what conditions are in place to access support from that scheme; which companies are to receive support from that scheme; how much those companies will each receive; and what the cost to the public purse is of that scheme.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme opened for applications on 29 January to provide support for eligible businesses, covering the equivalent of their business rates liabilities or COVID-19 losses – whichever is lower – in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £8m. On 3 March a six month extension to the scheme from 1 April 2021 was announced. It will cover the equivalent of their business rates liabilities or COVID-19 losses for the first 6 months of the 2021/22 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £4m.
The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme will support airports and ground handlers that have been severely impacted by the pandemic while retaining relatively high fixed costs, including business rates liabilities. We are currently considering applications to ensure payments are made to successful applicants by the end of the financial year and cannot comment on an ongoing process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total size of the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme funding will be; and whether conditions to maintain jobs or reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be applied for airlines and airports to access that support.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, announced on 24 November will provide support for eligible businesses, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per applicant of £8m.
Final decisions on the scheme and eligibility criteria are yet to be made. AGOSS will be launched shortly with further details of the scheme, including conditions to access that support, to be set out.