Scrap Airport Expansion and Step Up Aviation Taxes

Commenting on today's cross-party Commons Environmental Audit Committee report that the European Union emissions trading scheme will have little effect on the growth in aviation's contribution to climate change, the World Development Movement said the government must scrap its plans for airport expansion and introduce proper environmental taxes on the aviation industry.

WDM head of policy Peter Hardstaff said:

"This fatally wounds the government's claim that it is tackling aviation's contribution to climate change by including the industry within the Emissions Trading Scheme.

"The reality is that the government still fully supports a doubling of the number of air passenger between 2002 and 2020 and a doubling of air freight between 2002 and 2010.

"Curbing growth in aviation emissions is a litmus test of this government's commitment to tackling dangerous climate change and helping poor people in developing countries - who after all will bear the brunt of its impacts. It is time Tony Blair and Gordon Brown stepped up to the plate and made good on their much-hyped concern for the world's poor."

Echoing the findings of the Environmental Audit Committee report, calculations by the World Development Movement show that the recent small increase in air passenger duty, and the predicted effects of including flying in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme will do little to reduce emissions. The European Commission has estimated that including aviation in the ETS will only increase prices for air travel by between €1.80 (£1.20) and €9 (£6) on a return ticket,[1] which will have little impact on the growth in aviation.

"We estimate that this small increase in duty and the inclusion of aviation in the ETS will mean UK aviation emissions will still grow by 84 per cent by 2020, down from a 92 per cent increase if nothing was done" continued Mr Hardstaff.

1 March 2007