29 June 2021: The UK aviation industry has set new interim targets for 2030 and 2040 in order to achieve its commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.  

Sustainable Aviation is formed by UK’s leading airlines, airports manufacturers and ANSPs, which have reaffirmed their join commitment to  a net-zero future for UK aviation.

In the new interim targets, the UK aviation industry commits to reach a 15 per cent reduction by 2030 compared to 2019 levels and a 40 per cent net reduction by 2040 These goals are to be achieved via SAF, carbon removals, and new low and zero-carbon technologies. The chart below takes into account the COVID-19 effects on the sector.

In order for this to be a reality, further support is needed in five areas:

1. Key policies this year to deliver a UK SAF industry and commercialise SAF, most urgently by providing a demand signal and price support – the primer for up to 14 UK plants generating sustainable fuel from household and industrial waste by the middle 2030s, supporting at least a 32 per cent reduction in emissions from UK aviation by 2050.
2. A positive, long-term signal for investment in aerospace technology and the development of hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft through increased and extended funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute.
3. The completion of vital airspace modernisation generating significant carbon savings through more efficient flying and shorter journey times.
4. Policies that incentivise the commercialisation of carbon removal technologies that enable carbon neutral or carbon negative aviation fuel, allowing the aviation industry to address any remaining residual emissions.
5. UK Government to seek a more robust international commitment for aviation carbon reduction at the ICAO Assembly in 2022, ensuring emissions are reduced across the globe and not exported from the UK.

For more information, see here [1].