From SAF to scrimshaw: UK's SAF mandate approved

In a wonderfully broad and exceedingly polite discussion in the House of Lords which began with a discussion on sustainable aviation fuel in the UK and finished with a discussion on scrimshaw and the number of adult narwhals in the world, the UK's SAF mandate has been approved.

As discussed by Lord Hendy, “the SAF mandate is a bespoke mechanism for guaranteeing demand for SAF in the UK”.  The SAF mandate requires that 2% of aviation fuel has to be SAF from 2025, rising to 10% in 2030 and up to 22% in 2040.  This will require a significant increase in the amount of SAF being produced since the increase in production capacity needs to outpace the increase in the total amount of fuel used in the airline industry in order to increase the proportion of SAF being used.  There is also a requirement to have 3.5% of power to liquid fuels by 2040. 

The government estimates that SAF will add 10,000 jobs and contribute £1.8 billion to the economy whilst supporting decarbonisation.

Baroness Randerson commented that she disappointed at the length of time it had taken to reach the House of Lords despite the previous government's Jet Zero announcement. She also stated the need for speed to avoid the UK falling behind other countries in the manufacture of SAF. 

A query about the need for such a mandate was raised by Lord Moylan at least partially on the basis that SAF is estimated to cost 3 to 7 times that of existing jet fuel.  This is a valid argument and it will be necessary to further innovate in the SAF sector to push costs down to become more competitive with fossil fuels.  The UK needs to foster such innovation so that we grow and retain the skills in this nascent industry within the UK.  Companies from other European countries seem to be more focused on SAF and are forging ahead.  Since there are a lot of areas for energy saving in the UK, such as properly insulating homes, which is not a problem in countries like Sweden or Finland, we are less able to focus on one area.

Readers will also be heartened to learn that the prohibition of the dealing trade in ivory from hippos, killer whales, narwhals, and sperm whales was approved.