Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harper (Con)]

My Lords, before I say a few words, I would like to declare my interest, as listed in the register, as non-executive chair of RVL Aviation. I thank the Minister and the Government for continuing the sustainable aviation fuel regime that we set out, the revenue certainty mechanism and the investment in UK industrial production of sustainable aviation fuel. I thank him for listening carefully to the points made by colleagues in Committee, and for bringing forward appropriate amendments on Report. Finally, I thank him for responding to a number of points I made by committing to keeping the House informed as government policy develops in this area. I am very pleased to support the Bill as it makes its way on to the statute book.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

I welcome the passage of this Bill. It will result in a slight increase in costs as far as the training sector of aviation is concerned, but that is a small price to pay for the overall benefits.

[Lord Ravensdale (CB)]

My Lords, I remind noble Lords of my interest as a chief engineer working for AtkinsRéalis. I will briefly thank the Minister and his team for their time in all our meetings and for their collaborative approach during the passage of the Bill. In particular, the accommodation we reached on the exclusion of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids fuels—HEFA—from revenue certainty mechanism support, and the helpful response of the Minister to the intervention from the noble Lord, Lord Harper, on a Statement in Parliament if that were to be changed, meets the intent of my amendments and that of the noble Lord, Lord Moylan. This will provide important clarity for industry and focus support where it is most needed in de-risking the more immature technologies.

It has been welcome to see rare cross-party support for a Bill in the energy space, and I hope we can carry forward that collaborative spirit on future energy Bills in the next Session.