MPs demand airlines ‘be held accountable to green pledges’
Airlines must be made more accountable if their and the UK’s net zero emissions targets are to be met, a group of MPs has said.
Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has made 14 recommendations to the government it says will help the airline industry in the drive to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Among them, committee members called for the first review of the Jet Zero Strategy to be brought forward from 2027 to 2025 to determine whether it is on track.
Committee member Jerome Mayhew MP, said: “Decarbonising the aviation industry has proved difficult; but it is a critical part of the UK’s pathway to net zero.
“There is considerable energy and ambition within the aviation sector to deliver the necessary reductions in emissions. I welcome this ambition, but the government needs to make sure that ambition is translated into actual results.
“If a future review of the Jet Zero Strategy – which the committee recommended takes place by 2025 – reveals that sufficient progress is not being made, the government must not be afraid to alter course mid-flight to maintain progress towards our net-zero goals.”
The committee report also calls for parliament to make aviation and shipping serving the UK detail their emissions and to ensure a 2% year-on-year CO2 reduction is maintained.
It also urges the government to step up work on airspace modernisation, which it says has already saved 24,000 tonnes of CO2 a year by modifying routes in Scotland and the west of England.
The committee also wants a clear definition of the type of land used to produce sustainable aviation fuel and a target for the full roll-out of zero-emission aircraft on a “minimum number of routes essential to UK connectivity” by 2040.
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