News & Comment Latest news and headlines from the media
NEWS / SEPTEMBER 2009 / CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL DEAL FOR FLYING
The Climate Change Committee has written to the government, recommending that an agreement to cap global aviation emissions is part of a deal in Copenhagen in December. They made clear that they were not calling for a cap that would require people to fly less, but that aviation emissions must be constrained.
FlyingMatters Director Michelle Di Leo explained on the BBC News Channel that the industry can meet the challenge and reduce CO2 emissions to 2000 levels by 2050 through new technology, biofuels and a global emissions trading scheme.
OUR REACTION
Rt Hon Brian Wilson
commenting on
Call for international deal for flying
The good news is that the aviation industry has already committed itself to reducing its emissions to 2000 levels by 2050 against a threefold increase in passenger numbers. That is a major challenge but one which we are confident the industry can meet. Sustainable Aviation, a UK initiative which includes all the main companies in the aviation industry, set out a road map showing exactly how that could be achieved through a combination of technology, use of sustainable biofuels and operational improvements. The inclusion of aviation within a global deal on emissions is also a crucial part of this mix.
The most effective way to pay for, and incentivise the reduction of, aviation emissions is through a global emissions trading scheme – we strongly support this approach and hope that agreement on this can be achieved at Copenhagen in December.
The worst way to approach this issue is through unilateral action to stop people flying using tax, such as Air Passenger Duty, which simply penalises ordinary families who only fly occasionally and is, in any case, environmentally ineffective since none of the revenue goes towards improving environmental performance.
News Archive Last 6 months
- July 2010 (2)
- June 2010 (3)
- May 2010 (3)
- April 2010 (2)
- March 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (2)
Press Our latest press release
FlyingMatters reaction to public attitudes to air travel and the environment survey
Reacting to statistics published by the Department for Transport on attitudes to air travel and the environment, showing that the proportion of people willing to pay extra fell from 69% in 2006 to 60% in 2010 among those who do believe that air travel harms the environment and from 50% to 40% among those who have flown in the last 12 months, Brian Wilson, Chairman of FlyingMatters said: "Just as the public's appetite for paying more for flying is waning, the Government plan to push ahead with eye-watering rises in the tax on flying so that from November a family of four will pay up to £340 in tax alone. This will push flying out of the reach of many ordinary families who only fly occasionally."
