Airline carbon emissions to be curbed

1.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 15th Nov 2007

London Lib Dem MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed the vote by MEPs to make airlines contribute towards curbing carbon emissions.

This will be through inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme which currently only covers power stations, refineries and heavy industry. The European Parliament wants all flights from and to the EU included by 2011.

Sarah Ludford commented:

"I am glad that MEPs have responded to the spectacular pace of air traffic growth, not least through London's airports, by endorsing a tougher approach than proposed by the European Commission."

"Air travel across Europe has never been as cheap as it is now, with the cost of flying having fallen dramatically over the last 10m years. But the real price will be paid by future generations if the rapid rise in carbon emissions is not stopped."

"This scheme will provide the necessary incentive for the aviation industry to invest in cleaner technologies and modern, fuel-efficient fleets, and to reduce the number of half-empty planes."

"It is appropriate that this vote coincides with the launch of the new Eurostar line which makes train travel to many Continental destinations an attractive option instead of flying. If the UK government also invested in high-speed lines for domestic travel, we could avoid any demand for a third runway at Heathrow."