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New ‘green’ attack on airlines
A doubling of Air Passenger Duty is one of the suggestions being made in an effort to stifle demand for cheap air travel.
A report from Oxford University warns that the government will not be able to meet its target of a 60% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 without curbing demand for air travel.
One of the report’s authors Dr Sally Cairns, quoted by the BBC, said: “Raising Air Passenger Duty would help to counter reductions in fares, which are estimated to have been responsible for at least 40% of recent avaition growth.”
The report says taxation through increased passenger duty would be easier and quicker than including aviation within the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, as the Department fro Transport is suggesting.
Without action, aircraft emissions will account for about a quarter of the national total of emissions by 2050, up from around 5.5% now.
The report – Predict and Survive: Aviation, Climate Chnage and Policy – warns that the UK is becoming “air dependent” and government policies set up to tackle the issue are contradictory.
Although limiting flights might be bad for airports and airlines, other sectors of the economy such as domestic tourism would benefit, according to the report.
Project leader Dr Brenda Boardman reportedly said: “The government has to confront the contradictions in its policies. Unless the rate of growth of flights is curbed, the UK cannot fulfil its commitments on climate change.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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