‘Alternative aviation fuels are useful but not enough,’ says AEF to the Environmental Audit Committee

5th June, 2025

On Wednesday 14th of May 2025, the Environmental Audit Committee held an evidence session as part of its inquiry into whether airport expansion is compatible with the UK’s climate and nature targets. AEF was invited to take part in the first session of the afternoon, alongside witnesses from Green Alliance and the University of Cambridge.

Celeste Hicks, AEF’s Policy Manager, told the Committee that aviation emissions were not reducing fast enough to justify airport expansion. AEF analysis shows that 2024 emissions levels are likely to be above 2019 levels, despite claims made in the Jet Zero Strategy that 2019 would be the peak year for aviation emissions.The committee paid special attention to the likelihood of potential emission reductions from sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), and the SAF Mandate, which dictates future SAF uptake within the UK. Currently, SAF is one of the few major policies in place designed to decarbonise aviation.

However, not only is there concern over sourcing genuinely sustainable SAF, but current levels of SAF globally represent less than 1% of the market. SAF is not scaling fast enough, and the most recent projections of the UK SAF volumes by the CCC show a shortfall of 38% in 2040.

Demand management was presented as not only a complementary policy to SAF, but also as a means to ensure the cost of decarbonisation was shouldered by those who fly the most. This could be done through a frequent flyer levy, or an air miles tax.

Celeste Hicks emphasised the importance of early implementation of demand management, while other solutions with an uncertain delivery time (such as SAFs or hydrogen-electric aircraft), were in development. This would ease the pressure on these techno-fixes, which would have to scale even faster if the aviation industry is allowed to grow excessively.

To see the full session on the topic of whether it is possible to meet our environmental commitments while allowing airport expansion, take a look at this full recording of the Environmental Audit Committee session.