Submit your views to the aviation consultation

Flying is a major contributor to the climate crisis. openDemocracy has revealed that the “greenwashing” efforts of UK airlines may be contributing to the destruction of rainforests in Asia. The aviation industry claims ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ (SAF) is made from ‘waste and residue’ materials. But more than 80% of the SAF supplied to airlines in the UK last year was made from imported “used cooking oil”. Most came from countries in Asia, where its authenticity has been questioned, raising fears it may be causing deforestation.

Now the UK government is carrying out a consultation into how SAF should work. It’s a great chance to challenge greenwashing and instead push for measures that will actually cut emissions, such as a frequent flyer tax.

Will you take a moment to submit a response to the consultation? We have written a draft message for you but it’s far more powerful if you use your own words. But you might want to tell the Department for Transport that you are responding to the consultation on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of aviation fuel and that:

You are responding as an individual, giving your name and email address
You do not think used cooking oil and animal fat should be permitted under the government’s planned sustainable aviation fuel mandate
You think the UK government should introduce a frequent flyer levy, which makes those who fly more often pay progressively more tax

In the email, you will have to give your name and email address for the Department of Transport to accept your response. Please add in those details before sending and please also remember to be polite and respectful. It makes your message much more effective.

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To whom it may concern, Please treat this email as my response to the “Pathway to net zero aviation: Developing the UK sustainable aviation fuel mandate” consultation on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of aviation fuel in the UK. I am responding as an individual. My position is that neither animal fat nor used cooking oil should be permitted under the government’s planned sustainable aviation fuel mandate because some of the oil is not genuine and there is a high risk that the use of either will contribute to tropical deforestation. The relatively small amount of used cooking oil produced in the UK is already needed to decarbonise road transport and it doesn't make environmental sense to ship it from Asia to the UK as it would save more emissions if used in vehicles in the countries where it was collected. The Department for Transport should focus instead on reducing demand for air travel by introducing a frequent flyer levy, which makes those who fly more often pay progressively more tax. <a href="https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/">Research</a> shows that just 15% of people in Britain take 70% of flights, with 57% not flying abroad at all. Globally, the top 2% most frequent flyers take about 40% of flights, according to <a href="https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/global-aviation-frequent-flying-levy-sep22.pdf">ICCT</a>. Making frequent flying more expensive will reduce carbon emissions associated with the aviation sector by reducing demand.

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Submit your views to the aviation consultation