Official Report 1740KB pdf
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20550, in the name of Jim Fairlie, on a legislative consent motion for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill, which is United Kingdom legislation.
I would be grateful if members who wish to speak would press their request-to-speak buttons.
17:40
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the legislative consent motion for the UK Government’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons on 14 May 2025. Scottish ministers strongly welcome efforts to boost the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel—SAF—and therefore support the overall policy intention of the bill.
The bill lays the foundation for a UK-wide revenue certainty mechanism. It is an essential step towards making sustainable aviation fuel production commercially viable. The bill is designed to accelerate the domestic production of SAF and support the UK Government’s aviation decarbonisation strategy.
SAF is one of the most promising ways of reducing aviation emissions and is therefore important in supporting the Scottish Government’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. The bill opens the door to future investment and green jobs, and it could bring significant economic benefits if the fuel were commercially produced at scale in Scotland.
Including Scotland in the bill ensures that we remain competitive and that we do not lose out to other parts of the UK. The bill as introduced had no formal role for Scottish ministers, with the exception of a consult provision in clause 10. The Scottish Government had extensive engagement with the UK Government, at official and ministerial level, to dissolve the concerns around the regulation-making powers in the bill, which might be exercised for a devolved purpose in Scotland.
Those discussions led to the UK Government amending the bill to include a requirement for the secretary of state to consult with Scottish ministers on three regulation-making powers, in clauses 1(8), 3(1) and 11(4), in addition to the existing consult provision in clause 10(1). I believe that the agreed statutory consultation mechanism offers appropriate reassurance and transparency, particularly given the early stage of development of the UK SAF industry.
I welcome the positive and collaborative engagement between the Scottish Government and the UK Government throughout the bill’s development, particularly during the latter stages. I also welcome the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee's report and its recommendation that the Scottish Parliament consent to the relevant provisions in the bill, as set out in the motion.
I considered the report’s conclusions and recommendations and provided a response to some of the recommendations, with a full response to be provided to the committee shortly. The Scottish Government therefore recommends that the Scottish Parliament gives consent to clauses 1 to 5, 10, 11(2) to 11(5), 12 to 20 and the schedule.
Scottish ministers remain committed to constructive engagement and to supporting measures that could lead to increased production and the use of sustainable aviation fuel in Scotland. I therefore ask the Parliament to agree to the motion for legislative consent in relation to the aforementioned provisions contained in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 14 May 2025, and subsequently amended, relating to clauses 1 to 5, 10, 11(2) to 11(5), 12 to 20 and the schedule, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament.
17:43
When it comes to legislative consent motions, I sometimes worry about the risk of being typecast, as I always seem to be fated to be the angry convener delivering a speech about the flaws of the LCM process. However, today, the Parliament will be pleased to know that the angry convener will not be here.
Although the process in this case did not run perfectly, it ran well enough for the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee to come to a reasonably unrushed view on consent. We even had time to go beyond the narrow bounds of the LCM for a more general look at the state of our SAF industry, and I thank the experts whom we heard from as part of that process.
So, what did we find? I have limited time so will give some quick bullet points. First, we found that we need SAF if we are to decarbonise, and we need loads more of it. Secondly, we found that we need prudent governmental intervention to help the sector achieve lift-off. Thirdly, a price stabilisation mechanism such as that in the bill could help, but this is a framework bill, so the detail will absolutely have to be right.
The type of SAF that we need most is so-called power-to-liquid SAF. Biofuels might be the bridge to the next decade, but they are land and resource hungry. The basic building blocks of power-to-fuel SAF are hydrogen and carbon atoms, which never run out.
Scotland is well placed in relation to SAF: we have Grangemouth and other industrial assets that could be repurposed; we have the skills base, especially from the oil and gas industry; and we have a strong record in wind energy generation and the potential for growth in green and blue hydrogen and carbon capture. However, what are the barriers? There is a high price for electricity, which makes it harder for us to compete internationally. What also seemed to be lacking to our witnesses was a sense of the Government having a clear plan for SAF that signals confidence and momentum to potential investors.
Our report called on the Scottish Government to get the mothballed SAF working group back to work to look at quick wins, such as whether Grangemouth could be a base for mixing and redistributing biofuels.
The UK and Scottish Governments have worked out their differences on order-making powers as the bill has proceeded. Our report recommends that the Parliament consents to the relevant provisions of the bill, but we call on the Scottish Government to be on the front foot in using all the powers that it already has and in making the case to Whitehall for a truly UK-wide industrial policy for SAF that makes best use of Scotland’s considerable industrial, natural and human assets.
17:46
This is an important debate. SAF is important because one of our key climate emissions in Scotland is air travel. It makes up 4.5 per cent of our total emissions, with transport at 16 per cent. How we power our planes is absolutely vital going forward. Although short-journey flights could be powered by electricity, SAF is an absolutely key part of our long-term solution, so the requirement to have increasing amounts of SAF to fuel our planes is vital.
I thank the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, its clerks and the witnesses who gave important evidence to the committee. The fact that the committee is happy for legislative consent to be given to the relevant provisions in the bill is significant. I watched the committee’s evidence sessions, and it interrogated the issues that were raised by witnesses very effectively.
If we do not produce sustainable aviation fuel in the UK, we will have to import it. That would be a massive missed opportunity in terms of jobs and our economy, but having to import low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel would also be an energy security issue for our aviation sector. I believe that we need not only to agree to the LCM today—agreeing to it is important for giving confidence and clarity to the sector—but to support the opportunity to produce SAF in Scotland.
As the convener of the committee said, the recommendations included in project willow could enable investment, which would mean having highly skilled high-quality jobs in Grangemouth, lowering our carbon emissions and enabling a supply of SAF in Scotland that could be transported to our key airports.
Last year’s commitment by the UK Labour Government to invest £200 million was vital in supporting progress at Grangemouth to deliver innovative low-carbon outputs and jobs. As the committee discussed, it is vital that we develop innovative production methods for the use of biogenic CO2 and green hydrogen, for example—it is critical that we use our low-carbon electricity in Scotland to deliver green hydrogen—and for the use Scotland’s timber and wood waste as a sustainable feedstock for second-generation bioethanol, which can then be used for fuel blending for SAF.
Unite said that we could deliver those ambitions by the early 2030s, but it is absolutely clear that we need to give investors the confidence to invest now. Other countries across the world are investing in the technology to be able to produce SAF, so we need to produce it, too. This an opportunity to lower our carbon emissions, which, as we regularly discuss, are deeply damaging, create high-quality jobs, deliver energy security for our aviation sector and allow Scotland to lead the way in delivering innovative SAF production.
Agreeing to the LCM is important, but I hope that the Government uses this opportunity to keep working with the UK Government, bring potential investors together and update Parliament. The issue is not going away, and it would be useful to keep it on the Parliament’s agenda. It is a huge opportunity that we cannot afford to miss out on.
I call the minister to wind up.
17:49
Thank you, Presiding Officer—I will not take long at all.
As I draw the debate to a close, I thank Edward Mountain and Sarah Boyack for their contributions.
With regard to the SAF working group, Edward Mountain was absolutely correct: it was wound down while project willow was on-going, and there is still work to come out of it. Scottish Enterprise is finalising a report that will look at the economic benefits of producing SAF in Scotland.
Sarah Boyack talked about wind potential. In my view, the point is this. Would it not be absolutely fantastic if we had full control to manage all of this—all the resources, all the abilities and all the things that are sitting here in Scotland—through independence?
That concludes the debate on the motion on legislative consent for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill, which is UK legislation.
Air ais
MV Bella 1Air adhart
Point of Order