“Families should skip foreign holidays to cut carbon emissions, says Government adviser”
The previous administration set a target of to reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions
to 2005 levels by 2050. This target is currently under review by the Coalition.
Foreign travel was highlighted in the recent report for the DfT to draw up proposals
for cutting the environmental impact of aviation. It suggests that a range of
potential measures, including awareness of carbon footprint, to voluntarily reduce
the demand for air travel could be targeted at passengers.
30.8.2011 (Telegraph)
Families should be discouraged from taking holidays abroad if Britain is to meet
its climate change targets, a Government commissioned report has said.
Consultants hired by the Department for Transport have been accused to trying
to shame Britons into staying at home.
The previous administration set a target of to reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions
to 2005 levels by 2050. This target is currently under review by the Coalition.
Foreign travel was highlighted in the report by EMRC and AEA, the consultants
hired by the DfT to draw up proposals for cutting the environmental impact of
aviation.
“There is a range of potential measures to voluntarily reduce the demand for
air travel through the promotion of behavioural change that could be targeted
at passengers,” ministers were told.
“These include increasing awareness of the carbon footprint associated with air
travel, encouraging fewer overseas holidays.”
The proposals drew a furious reaction from Simon Buck, the chief executive of
the British Air Transport Association.
“What we are talking about here is the Government shaming people into not flying
away on holiday,” he said Simon Buck.
“Is it right to make people feel guilty for taking an annual sunshine break?
Where is it going to stop? Will we be told what car we should drive and how many
children we should have.”
The report also suggested the targets could be met by other measures including
the increased use of biofuels, more efficient aircraft engines and improved air
traffic control to cut the time planes spend in the air.
According to figures produced earlier this by ONS, the Government’s official
statisticians, Britons make 58.6 million overseas trips a year, of which two thirds
were holidays.
In the decade between 1999 and 2009 the number of percentage of people choosing
to fly on holiday in fact fell by 2.1 per cent, with the drop attributed to the
increasing popularity of the Channel Tunnel, which saw a 15.5 per cent rise over
the same period.
However the recession is believed to have depressed foreign travel, with a poll
earlier this year showing that two Britons out of five were planning to forego
their holiday overseas to save money.
But while the aviation industry was angered by the consultants’ proposals, they
did not go far enough for environmental groups.
“It’s a shame that the Government has not taken this opportunity to set a UK
target on aviation emissions,” said Jean Leston, Acting Head of Transport Policy
at WWF-UK.
“Our efforts to tackle climate change rely on aviation making real reductions.
The Government’s indecision will only lead to more confusion and allow airport
expansion to continue”
However Theresa Villiers, the aviation minister, defended the Government’s approach.
““We are committed to developing a new policy framework for aviation which supports
economic growth while also reflecting the environmental impacts of flying.”
Comment from an AirportWatch member:
it asks.
some new near-neighbours and she replied on the lines “yes the aircraft noise is
a bit of a nuisance – but because we live fairly close to the airport and the
flights are cheap we can make 2 or 3 trips a year…….”
on cheap flights to expensive European locations. It’s not that “hard-working
British family”, or “the poor who will be priced out of the air”.