Industry supports UK GHG SAF mandate from 2025

A total of 79 stakeholders, including airlines, airports, fuel producers and suppliers who responded to the UK government's proposal to introduce a sustainable aviation (SAF) mandate, were broadly in favour of its introduction from 2025.

The UK last year proposed introducing a mandate for up to 10pc SAF by 2030 and up to 75pc by 2050 with the obligation starting in 2025.

Most respondents to the consultation agreed that the proposed mandate should start in 2025 because this allows sufficient time for the fuel industry to prepare and should apply to the fuel supplier. And they were largely in favour of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scheme, rather than a volumetric mandate.

Most stakeholders agreed that the targets should assume a linear growth up to 2035 and an exponential growth after that date, and agreed that the mandate should align with EU mandate provisions as well as EU ETS and Corsia schemes to prevent the risk of tankering and the double counting of emissions reductions.

Most respondents agree with the SAF sustainability criteria proposed by the government, including minimum GHG savings for the fuels, although several stakeholders felt that setting out a list of eligible feedstocks was premature.

Respondents were fairly evenly divided in their views on the introduction of a cap for hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF, currently the most developed production method, although there was a broad agreement that an excessive reliance on HEFA would be detrimental to the environment and feedstock competition for other uses.

Stakeholders welcomed support for alternative technology pathways and were broadly in favour of the introduction of a buy-out mechanism in case of non-compliance.

The UK government is expected to publish its response to the consultation as well as a second consultation later this year.

By Giulia Squadrin