Understanding the potential and costs for reducing UK aviation emissions

This research is being jointly commissioned by the Committee on Climate Change (the CCC) and the Department for Transport (the DfT). However, it should be noted that the contract for this research will be formally awarded and managed by the CCC.

The CCC was set up as part of the Climate Change Act. The CCC is an independent body tasked with providing advice to government on climate change issues, particularly the setting of carbon budgets for the UK and monitoring of progress towards meeting them.

The DfT works with its agencies and partners to support the transport network that helps the UK's businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country; and plans and invests in transport infrastructure to keep the UK on the move.

Background

The Climate Change Act sets legally-binding targets for the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. It includes a 2050 target for at least an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, and a series of five-yearly carbon budgets on track to the 2050 target. The CCC has recommended that an appropriate planning assumption for 2050 is for aviation CO2 emissions to be around 2005 levels.

The CCC has previously published advice to the government on how UK aviation emissions could be reduced, , based on detailed modelling of the technologies and behaviours that could be deployed. This advice provided evidence around the following options to reduce the CO2 emissions from aviation: Engine and airframe technologies; Changes to air traffic management and airline operations; Modal shift to rail and videoconferencing; Sustainable biofuels; and Demand management. The aviation industry has also published a roadmap for reducing emissions.

The Government is planning to launch a new Aviation Strategy in early 2019, with a green paper that will include climate change issues due in autumn 2018.

As part of this process, the CCC and the DfT would like to review the potential for reductions in CO2 emissions from changes to aircraft engines and airframes (including both evolutionary changes, and radical new technologies such as electric, hybrid and blended wing body aircraft), and from changes to air traffic management and airline operations (e.g. through more efficient routing to reduce distances flown or more efficient ground operations).

The CCC's previous advice on aviation emissions was based on a 2008 study for the Committee by QinetiQ, which was updated in 2010 for the DfT. Current projections of future UK aviation CO2 emissions by the DfT draw on recommendations made by Ricardo Energy & Environment in their reports on carbon abatement and fleet mix modelling produced for the DfT in 2017.

*** More detail can be found in the specification ***

Additional information: Bids should be sent in time in time for receipt by 9am on 29 May 2018.