UK Edition
Holidaymakers will face higher ticket prices as a result of EU plans to force airlines to use more biofuel, the industry's top lobbyist has warned.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said new quotas for sustainable aviation fuel will allow suppliers to hike prices - a cost that would be passed on to passengers through increased fares.
Sustainable aviation fuel, which is made from household waste and used cooking oil, comprises less than 0.1pc of all the jet fuel used.
The EU’s ReFuel regime requires airlines to increase the amount they use in the coming years.
Mr Walsh, the former boss of British Airways, said: “This is the wrong approach, they should be forcing fuel producers to improve their performance.
“Mandating airlines to use a product that isn't available at scale is not the way forward… it's not going to it's not going to provide any real benefit.”
Speaking at an event in London, Mr Walsh said that the UK should ignore the EU’s approach and follow the lead set by President Joe Biden's administration.
“Governments must lead with incentives, with more carrot and less stick,” he said.
“The Biden administration has recently provided a good example of what needs to be done. It is taking a whole-of-government approach to incentivise the production of at least 11bn litres of SAF [sustainable aviation fuel] by 2030,” he said.
“This is leadership. And it comes in stark contrast to the EU ReFuel initiative, which imposes mandates but provides no incentives to achieve them.”
Mr Walsh, who led the UK’s flag carrier between 2005 and 2020, urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “get more aggressive” by offering grants from taxpayers and interest free loans to companies developing biofuels.
He said this would allow the country to be a global leader in the production of aviation fuel that is better for the environment.
“We believe that with the right incentives a thriving UK SAF industry could stand on its own two feet within a decade –avoiding the main downsides of mandates. And it would be great to show this off to the world as a global best practice created right here.
“Such a best practice would have an important role because it will help states avoid a patchwork of different regulations or market distortions.”
Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, wants to introduce a sustainable aviation fuel regime in the UK from 2025 and consulted a number of options - including a regime that forces the production of biofuels - over the summer.