Sadik Al-Hassan

I, too, thank all the hon. Members who have contributed to the debate. It was fantastic to hear from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) about the importance of mitigating any impact of this change on constituents and of challenging scepticism about hydrogen’s role. He is definitely on the bus when it comes to hydrogen. My hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) is a champion of his local airport and of green hydrogen, which offers us strategic energy independence and jobs while also helping us to meet climate targets. The hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Claire Young) talked about the innovation history in the west of England, a region that she said is up for the challenges of hydrogen while prioritising change in aviation. Front Benchers made a number of important points, too, including about the risk of doing nothing for our ability to meet our climate targets; the skills needed to reflect the changes to regulation to go alongside the Government’s announced funding; the need for a long-term plan to drive investment; the fact that hydrogen is good for the planet and good for Britain; the role of the Government in providing leadership in this hydrogen age, not only in the UK but internationally; and the effect of a refocused Jet Zero Council on progress on catching up in order to meet our plans for a greener aviation sector. I also welcome the UK-US trade deal and its potential benefits for the nascent hydrogen economy. I thank all the relevant Members for bringing those points to the fore; I am certain that the Minister has heard them and will take them away. We have heard today about the extraordinary opportunities across the country that the development of the aviation sector might bring. I have seen at first hand in my constituency of North Somerset that it is an incredibly exciting sector, which has long been at the cutting edge of innovation in this country; hydrogen-powered aviation is just the latest link in a chain stretching back over 100 years. I get the sense that we are unified behind hydrogen-powered aviation. We all agree on the need to reach our legally binding net zero targets, and that we must do so in a way that maintains the affordability and accessibility of the modern aviation industry. I believe that hydrogen-powered aviation is the answer. Down the line, we might disagree on some minor tactical points, but so long as we agree on the overarching aim and strategy, I believe that we can get there. Realising the potential of hydrogen-powered aviation is incredibly important, not just for the long-term regional economic prospects of constituencies such as mine, in which Bristol airport plays such a key role in our local economy, but for our nation as a whole. As we have heard, the aviation industry supports over 1.6 million jobs across our country and contributes over £120 billion to our economy every year. While we are here to recognise its contributions to our emissions, I think we agree on its importance to our future economic growth and, therefore, on the need to support its decarbonisation while not imperilling its expected strong growth. I thank Members again for their contributions. I look forward to seeing how the sector continues to develop in the years to come. As they say, the sky’s the limit. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered hydrogen powered aviation.