What's all this fuss about?

A selection of articles, reports and press releases on the topics of global warming in relation to travelling and especially aviation.

Ads for flights should carry "flight can kill" warnings, think-thank suggests.

ECOLOGIST ONLINE , Friday 5 April 2007

Adverts for flights should carry cigarette-style warnings, centre-left think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has advised. The suggested measure aims to increase awareness of the fact that "'Flying Causes Climate Change" - and this simple message should be carried on all promotional material for flights. IPPR also suggest ads should contain an estimate of the per person emissions incurred in the flight, and a comparison with the emissions caused by making the same journey by rail or coach.

>>> read this article

BBC online, Monday 2 April 2007

European environment leaders have said the US and Australia must alter their stance on climate change, as talks opened in Brussels on a major report. Would the biggest polluters in the World listen?

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Pressure group urges higher air taxes to penalise 'rich' flyers

The Independent, 19 March 2007

The Government should impose more green taxes on aviation because flying is "primarily an activity of the rich," according to a study by the anti-poverty pressure group the World Development Movement. According to the study, the Government subsidise the aviation industry by £10.4bn a year - £173 for every man, woman and child - through tax reliefs and airport expansion.

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Tories reveal plans for green tax hike on air travels

The Observer, 11 March 2007

If the tories will have their way, all of us will be allowed a yearly flight mileage. Once the allowance is capped, any exceeding air miles will be paid with extra taxes. The plans have been welcomed by Friends of the Earth's Tony Juniper.

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EU leaders agree climate change targets

Times Online, 09 March 2007

European leaders today launched a green revolution, after agreeing to take on ambitious climate change goals including legally-binding targets for switching to renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar power.
The plans have been described "ambitious and credible". And they certainly are a welcome start. But is the new goal really ambitious? And are the plans "credible" just because they are undemanding? Friends of the Earth demanded for a target of at least 30%; but the agreed cuts will amount for a 20%.

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Is shipping more polluting than flying?

The Guardian, 03 March 2007

Apparently yes. But careful: we are talking about shipping, not passengers' transport."CO2 output from shipping twice as much as airlines", titled an article appeared on the Guardian. The article reports the findings of a research that studied the previously underestimated emission from shipping, so far excluded from the Kyoto protocol agreement. It is the first research of this type, and there is no evidence to move any objections to what the research claims. However, the research does not compare directly the CO2 cost of flying against .

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Humans blamed for climate change. But does anybody really care?

www.bbc.co.uk, 02 February 2007

Two articles by BBC's environment correspondent, Richard Black. The first reports on IPCC assessment, according to which global climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause:

>>> read the article

The second is a comment on the same subject: "Reading the executive summary, and writing about it, induces a definite sense of deja vu". Everybody seems keen to and agrees on fighting climate change. But, Richard Black wonders, "if climate change is today's enemy, does humanity have the knowledge or the will to fight for more than five minutes at a time?" The gap between the loudness of the words and the inadeuacy of action has never been so striking.

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The IPCC report is out: We are paying our lifestyle by destroying the Earth.

www.ipcc.ch/, 02 February 2007

Well, the International Panel on Climate Change might not use the actual words in our title, but this is what you gather if you read the first volume of the new IPCC report, presented in Paris on the 2nd of Febrary. The much awaited report has "very high confidence" that antropogenic processes are to blame for climate change. But what can be done? The Summary for Policymakers indicates that the World will be suffering from climate heating for the next two centuries at least - even if human beings stopped breathing and existing right now. Extreme measures are required - a 60% reduction on emission by 2030, according to some. How to achieve that? Politicians and individuals should take immediate and strong action. Is that going to happen?

>>> read the IPCC 4th report

Blair won't give up his holidays for the sake of global warming

The Guardian, 09 January 2007

Sorting out global warming should be left to science: as for ourselves, we can keep flying as usual. That applies especially for the richest of us - first of all, the Prime Minister, who says won't give up flying to his holidays just to help cut carbon emissions. Too much effort, innit? After all, do we really wants to change a system that makes consumption its first engine? Come on, grow up guys. Keep flying. Somebody else will sort things out.

>>> read this article

>>> Also see comments on Tony Blair's remarks here

And now you can take a bus all the way to Australia

The Observer, 07 January 2007

A newly launched service will take backpackers all the way from London to Australia: by bus. Ozbus, this is the name of this new travel solution, can be summed up in three numbers: 20 countries, 12 weeks, £3,750. It will see plenty of adventurous eco-aware tourist (presumably young) queing for jumping on board of the bus.

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Friends of the Earth's Comment: we need the Governement to do more

The Guardian, 05 January 2007

Friends of the Earth's aviation campaigner, Richard Dyer, said
"Mr Pearson is right to be concerned about the refusal of the aviation industry to take climate change seriously. This is why Government action to tackle the sector's rising emissions is urgently required. Plans to allow UK airports to be expanded should be scrapped, and the multi-billion pound tax-breaks that the sector receives must end..

>>> read this article

Rise of low-cost flights comes at high price

The Guardian, 05 January 2007

Senior ministers attack Aviation Companies for their irresponsible policies on climate change. But the Government itself is in a double bind. While it is committed to cutting overall UK carbon dioxide emissions by 60% between 1990 and 2050, its own research states that this will be impossible if aviation is allowed to carry on expanding.

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Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island

The Independent, 24 December 2006

For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas.

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FOE supports bringing aviation with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, but...

Friends of the Earth press release, Tuesday, 19 December 2006

On Wednesday, 20 December 2006, the European Commission is due to publish its draft legislative proposal for bringing aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). In this press release, Friends of the Earth support bringing aviation with the ETS but argues that stronger action is required. FoE write down a series of proposals at UK level which includes: increasing UK Air Passenger Duty, VAT on air tickets, giving up plans for new runaways, including all aviation emissions within legally binding UK climate change targets.

 >>> Read this press release

EU SHOULD AUCTION GREENHOUSE CREDITS TO AIRLINES, SAYS IPPR

BBC NEWS online, Monday, 18 December 2006

The Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) says that if the airlines are simply given the credits they will pass on emissions credit costs to passengers, leaving the industry to pocket up to £2.7 billion in windfall profits. The report shows that the UK energy industry made around £1 billion windfall profits in the first year of the EU ETS when it was given free emissions credits. ippr says that the profits from an auction should be used to fund low-carbon transport and fuels.

 >>> Read this report

CARBON MOVES 'MAY BOOST AIRLINES'

BBC NEWS online, Monday, 18 December 2006

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) respectively estimate airlines could make up to £2.7bn and £3.5bn. That is, if emissions from planes are included in the European Trading Scheme.

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BROWN BUDGET FAILS GREEN TEST YET AGAIN, SAY FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Friends of the Earth, press release on Thursday the 7th of December.

Friends of the Earth criticised Chancellor Gordon Brown for failing to take tough action in his Pre Budget Report today to tackle climate change. The environmental campaign group said that 'green' measures announced today were just "tinkering in the margins.

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BROWN HAS FAILED GREEN TEST SAY CRITICS

The Guardian, Thursday the 7th of December.

"Gordon Brown came under strong attack from opposition parties and green lobby groups last night after responding to the government's own warnings on climate change with a modest £1bn package of green taxes in his pre-budget report".
That's certainly not enough, reports the Guardian.

 >>> Read this article

FOE'S TONY JUNIPER WILL TALK TO ABTA IN MARBELLA THIS WEEK

Friends of the Earth, press release on Wednesday the 29th of November.

One of the things he will say:
" 80 per cent of all UK visits abroad last year were by plane, yet four fifths of visits (and nine of the top 10 most popular destinations) were to Europe - many of these could be made by rail."

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CIVIL AVIATION IN FLIGHT

Report by Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, accessed on Wednesday the 29th of November.

From the Conclusions and Recommendations of RCEP's report:
"Short haul passenger flights, such as UK domestic and European journeys, make a disproportionately large contribution to the global environmental impacts of air transport. These impacts are very much larger than those from rail transport over the same point to point journey."
Common sense reinforced by scientific evidence.

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WHAT IS ECOTOURISM? WHAT'S THE ISSUE IN REGARDS TO FLYING?

From the Guardian, accessed on Saturday the 25th November.

The Guardian's collection of articles, features and opinions on the hot issue of Ecotourism is a precious introduction to this crucial topic. Is ecotourism a contradiction in terms? And is flying really that bad, or is it just hot air? This Guardian Travel special will help you make your own mind.

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WHY WE WON'T FLY AGAIN

From The Observer, Sunday, January 29, 2006

"Being plucked from one place and dumped in another doesn't give you the chance to acclimatise to your destination". Flying just is not sensible, says Dan Kieran in this article published in the Observer, as he discovers that travelling by train is much more fun. And he gets to have two city breaks as an extra.

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ARE AVIATION POLLUTION CLAIMS A FLIGHT OF FANCY?

From The Guardian, Friday April 28, 2006

A new report by the European Low Fares Airline Association concludes that aviation is being unfairly blamed for CO2 emissions. Airline bosses have been quick to respond with some strong words of their own. Ros Taylor reported in the Guardian.

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TARGETS TO CUT AVIATION POLLUTION

From bbc.co.uk, Monday, 20 June, 2005

Air travel is expected to triple over the next 30 years. New targets to reduce the environmental impact of air travel - set to triple over the next 30 years - are being launched by the UK's aviation industry.

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AIR POLLUTION

From caa.co.uk (civil aviation authority)

There is increasing concern over the environmental impacts arising from pollutants emitted by aircraft engine exhausts. These emissions can:

  · affect local or regional air quality;

  ·  lead to ozone production or destruction (depending on the altitude of the emissions);

  · affect the earth’s climate directly (e.g. carbon dioxide emissions) or indirectly through modification of processes involved in the climate system (e.g. cloud formation).

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WE MUST TAKE DRASTIC ACTION NOW TO CHANGE TRANSPORT PATTERNS

I used to be a prolific traveller. My life has been hugely enriched by meeting people from different parts of the world, by exploring different cultures. I enjoy lying on hot beaches with palm trees swaying overhead. I know that having a car rather than waiting around for a train or bus is a more convenient and enjoyable way to go on a journey. But I don't believe my enjoyment should be literally costing the earth. That's why I've stopped flying and travelling by car and - although I know it's a lot to ask - that's why I believe everyone should switch to less polluting methods of transport now.

 >>> Read this article