There will be no let up in the pressure on the industry over climate change because it is easier to attack air travel than deal with the underlying issues, a Government MP has admitted.
GTMC parliamentary consultant Mark Tami, Labour MP for Alyn and Deeside in north Wales, said that aviation was in the spotlight rather than other areas such as power generation because of the perception that it is easier to do something about air travel.
“Air travel is not the sole problem, but climate change will stay top of the agenda for a long time,” said Tami, who was addressing delegates at the 2007 GTMC conference in Doha, Qatar. Tami also warned that there was cross-party agreement on maintaining the pressure and a risk of far tougher policies if the industry does not act.
“Labour and the Tories are talking tough on aviation but there are far more radical views,” he said. “For example, former Conservative industry minister Tim Yeo proposes taxing domestic flights out of existence.
“Technological improvements offer steps in the right direction, but technology won’t keep up and airlines will be expected to reduce emissions.”