By Sallust
Is Net Zero increasingly coming down to earth? Little by little, the driving force behind Government policies seems to be throttling back. The latest is that Burnham’s Labour Government is to ease Net Zero airline fuel quotas involving sustainable (or synthetic) aviation fuel (SAF). The Telegraph has the story:
Ministers are preparing to back down on quotas for the use of synthetic fuel by airlines, after warnings about how much they could increase costs for holidaymakers.
The Government has been told the mandate, which is due to come into force on January 1st to reduce emissions from planes, would force passengers to pay an extra £25 for short-haul flights.
Under the rules, airlines would face large fines if they failed to hit targets for the use of synthetic fuel, even though it is virtually unobtainable, with just one refinery out of 600 worldwide producing it.
This comes hot on the heels of another climbdown:
It is the latest Net Zero retreat by Andy Burnham, who is keen to prioritise measures that ease the cost of living. Earlier this week it emerged that he had ordered a halt to new wind and solar power subsidies to try to reduce household energy bills.
As with so many Net Zero ‘initiatives’, just seems to come down to loading more costs onto consumers:
Some airlines have already added fare surcharges to cover the additional cost of SAF, which is two to five times more expensive than standard jet fuel.
The latest round of SAF rules, due to come into force on January 1st, would require airlines to use a new synthetic fuel known as electro-sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF). It says they must then incorporate at least a 0.5% mix into their total fuel uptake by 2030.
Overall, airlines must use at least 10% SAF by the same year – the toughest requirement anywhere in the world.
Richard Holden, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said the move was “yet another Labour climbdown” that showed the Net Zero drive was “falling apart”.
Although manufacturers of SAF such as Synhelion are gushing in their enthusiasm for the fuel, which can be made from waste oil, cooking coil and even animal fat, the fact remains that it costs several times much as conventional jet fuel. That presently is a function of scale, but it seems that bringing the cost down isn’t going to come anything like fast enough for the real world of politics. Unlike the original production of oil, which had time to grow with a new market, the industry of new fuels must confront an already enormous existing market which much cheaper sources of conventional fuel already supply.
Governments have tried to force the change unnaturally fast with the use of quotas and other coercive tactics, keeping prices high and meeting resistance. This is probably the central problem for Net Zero policies for everything from heat pumps to aviation. It seems some politicians are waking up to this. At the same time the debate appears to be shifting from the dogma of ‘offset the climate catastrophe at any cost’, to averting a widespread self-inflicted social and economic disaster.
The Telegraph reports additionally that “Burnham is also preparing to cut quotas for sales of electric vehicles (EVs)”.
The Telegraph’s story is worth reading in full.
