Think Tank sparks row over biofuel jet fuel targets

Right-wing think-tank The Policy Exchange yesterday sparked a row over the best way to cut emissions from aviation with the release of a report urging the government to pursue measures designed to cut emissions rather than the number of flights.

The report, entitled Green Skies Thinking, concluded that while measures to reduce demand for flying may be required, the government should also move to accelerate the development and use of sustainable aviation biofuels that promise to deliver deep emission cuts across the aviation sector.

"We do need to look at reducing demand for flights, but switching from standard jet fuel to sustainable bio-jet fuel is currently the only viable option to significantly reduce emissions from the flights that remain," said report author Ben Caldecott. "Biofuels in aviation can also be delivered in sufficient quantities to meet global demand – unlike biofuels for road transport."

The report recommended that the government mandate the use of aviation biofuels in a manner similar to the way it has set targets for 10 per cent of fuel used by road vehicles to come from biofuels. It argued that a target requiring 20 per cent of jet fuel to come from sustainable bio-jet fuel by 2020 would provide certainty for emerging producers of jet biofuels and help deliver a 15 per cent cut in emissions across the EU aviation sector.

It also called on the government to extend R&D tax credits to cover firms working on the development of aviation biofuels and invest in the development of new regulatory bodies to ensure biofuels come from sustainable sources and deliver net reductions in emissions.

A number of high-profile aviation firms are currently investing heavily in the development of jet biofuels, focusing on fuels made from material such as algae which advocates claim can be produced in large quantities without eating into agricultural land and driving up food prices.

However, Friends of the Earth hit out at the Policy Exchange report, arguing that with the government's existing attempts to mandate the use of biofuels having failed to ensure that all biofuels come from renewable sources, it remains far too early to hail jet biofuels as a potential solution to the problem of aviation emissions.

"This report is right that it is important to cut flights if we are to stand a chance of preventing catastrophic climate change," said Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner Richard Dyer. "But replacing aviation fuel with biofuels will take us further down a blind alley, as these so-called green fuels are already increasing the climate-changing emissions that our cars, buses and lorries are producing."

He added that the government should not consider targets for aviation biofuels until it is proven that they cut overall emissions. "In the meantime, ministers must scrap plans to expand the UK's airports," he said.