Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the assertion in the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, that it expects to follow a similar CO2 emissions reduction trajectory to that set out in the UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy, what consideration it has given to the UK Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report to the UK Parliament that this is “high risk” due to its reliance on nascent technology, and what policy frameworks it will put in place to ensure that emissions reductions in the aviation sector occur if these technologies are not delivered on time and at sufficient scale.
The UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy, with its associated emissions trajectories, will apply throughout the UK. As the Aviation Statement makes clear, it is therefore vital that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure that aim. Scottish Ministers support the harnessing of new technologies across aerospace to meet climate targets. In addition to the technology-related actions in our Aviation Statement, the Scottish Government has established an expert working group to provide recommendations on increasing the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Scotland.