THE world’s population has not been given “a spare planet” by God, a bishop said during the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill debate in the House of Lords last week.
Introducing the session, the Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, described the “huge economic benefits for the wider low-carbon fuels industry” of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the UK’s initiatives “to decarbonise aviation”.
The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, then rose to give his maiden speech during the first half-hour. “I confess that sustainable aviation fuel was not a subject that I imagined I would be addressing when various noble Lords have given me advice about maiden speeches,” he began. “They said I would be working with high-flyers . . . that not everything was rocket science. Sustainability matters: the good Lord provided us with many things, but a spare planet was not among them, at least in this age.”
He referred to “this balance of pragmatisms” and the “need to be real about air travel being vital to modern life. It builds community, enables encounter, and crosses divides.” One such example was “Manchester Airport, where one actually lands in the diocese of Chester but disembarks in the diocese of Manchester”.
He said that “air travel does more than build community: it enables partnership and commerce. It is a vital part of the defence of our nation, as I witnessed when offering chaplaincy to our Armed Forces.” At the same time, “its environmental impact must be addressed. This means that Net Zero matters, but it is not the only sustainability consideration.”
He welcomed the “creation of an economic framework in which SAF becomes a viable investment”, but warned that “by itself, the Bill does not do nearly enough.” He spoke out for investment “in rail and in environmental road transport” and “timescales for substantive provision of third-generation SAF”: “Our infrastructure must line up with our fundamental identity and core vocation if we are to thrive.”
A former Transport Secretary, Lord Grayling (Conservative), said that the “aviation industry is under growing pressure over its carbon footprint” and it was subject to “flight shaming” from younger customers. “Our aviation sector is . . . a key part of our economy: it is the strongest sector in Europe; it is fundamental to our regions and to the economy of so many different parts of the country.” He urged the Government “to encourage serious investment here”.
Lord Berkeley (Labour) wanted to link the Bill to housing and domestic fuel with “a win-win solution for aviation and home heating”. For the Green Party’s Baroness Jones, the Government’s “aims for a greener, cleaner future for aviation” were “a very noble aim, but . . . impossible unless we radically rethink how we are going to deal with it”.
Viscount Trenchard (Conservative) was concerned that “the effect of the Bill is to distort the market for sustainable aviation fuel” and that “the cost of this distortion will be borne ultimately by consumers”. For Viscount Hanworth (Labour), the Bill was “a weak proposal for addressing a crisis”.
“We on the Liberal Democrat Benches welcome these steps to decarbonise our aviation industry, including investment in sustainable aviation fuels,” Baroness Pidgeon said. “However, we see SAF as just the first step: we want it to offer a real low-carbon alternative.”
Many of the speakers praised the Bishop of Chester’s first remarks in the Lords.
In summing up, Lord Hendy said that he agreed with Bishop Tanner “that sustainability matters” and that he was “sorry about his train service” where there were often delays. “The Bill will kick-start the UK SAF industry, attracting investment and creating jobs,” he concluded. “By addressing the market and investment uncertainty in SAF production, it will enable the UK to lead the way to greener aviation.”
Having been read a second time, the Bill will return to the Lords on 10 December, for the Committee Stage.
