PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Renewable Fuels (26 May 2016)

Sustainable fuels have an important role to play in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives for decarbonisation, such as aviation.

The Transport Energy Task Force which reported in March 2015 brought together a broad stakeholder group to provide expertise to support the Department for Transport in identifying and assessing options to decarbonise transport energy. The Task Force explored the potential for consensus amongst stakeholders on the role transport energy could play and how this could be delivered, including steps to improve investor confidence in the production of sustainable renewable transport fuels, and a specific aviation biofuels focus.

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certification scheme is the UK’s primary mechanism to incentivise the use of sustainable renewable fuels in road transport. Following the Transport Energy Task Force report, we have been working on proposals designed to enable us to set a clear long term pathway for the use of sustainable renewable transport fuels in the UK. In particular, we are assessing the benefits of making sustainable aviation fuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to publish a consultation on legislative amendments to the RTFO later this year.

In addition, in September 2015 the Department for Transport’s Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition, aimed at kick-starting a domestic advanced biofuels industry, awarded £25m of matched capital grant funding to build three sustainable biofuel plants in the UK.