Archived press release

Time for BA to pay up for pollution

13 July 1999

PICTURE OPPORTUNITY - 10.15am on Waterside Terrace at rear of Barbican Centre.Main entrance off Silk St, London, EC2Y 8DS at 10.15 am. Friends of the Earth campaigners, dressed as 'cabin crew' and 'ground controllers' will be protesting outside the Annual General Meeting of British Airways [1].

'Ground controllers' will guide BA shareholders into the AGM with signs urging BA to “stop polluting the planet with tax-free fuel” [2]. Once at the entrance, three 'air hostesses' and a 'steward' will hand out 'boarding cards' explaining how BA has opposed plans to tax aviation kerosine, even though BA's chairman, Lord Marshall has called for a tax on business energy use [3].

Simon McRae, FOE's Aviation Campaigner said:
“Flying is the most polluting form of transport there is. Yet airlines pay no duty on the fuel they use and therefore have little incentive to conserve fuel or control their emissions. The tax exemption gives airlines an unfair advantage over other forms of transport, encouraging people to travel in the least environmentally-friendly way.”

“BA's opposition to an aviation fuel tax is all the more shameful when you consider that its own Chairman, Lord Marshall, has called for an energy tax to be imposed on industry. Why does BA believe that the aviation industry should be exempt from such a fuel tax”.

“British Airways has a responsibility, as one of the world's largest airlines, to stop wrecking the climate with tax free fuel.. If British Airways really wants to be the worlds favourite airline then perhaps it could start by paying its fair share to stop the damage it's causing to the world's climate .”

A recent report by a United Nations' scientific advisory body said that aviation is responsible for 3.5 per cent of the emissions that are causing global warming. If current trends continue, its contribution could rise to as high as 15 per cent by 2050, making it the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases [4].

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] BA's AGM takes place from 11:00 am at the Concert Hall in the Barbican Centre.

[2] A 50 year old international agreement means airlines pay no duty on the fuel they use, whereas motorists and long distance coach operators have to pay over 40 pence/litre. Even train companies pay 3 pence/litre duty for their diesel. A stepped charge rising to 40 pence per litre (same as for motorists) after five years would generate more than £2.5 billion from British Airways alone.

Airline passengers do pay air passenger duty on every flight they make (£10 for EU flights, £20 for outside the EU). Although this raises over £800 million, it provides no incentive for airlines to conserve their fuel use and cut pollution. An aviation fuel tax is a pollution tax that would directly help reduce fuel consumption and hence reduce greenhouse gas emissions

[3] Last year, Lord Marshall chaired a Treasury Task Force looking into the issue of whether industry's energy use should be taxed to increase its incentive to conserve fuel and thereby cut pollution.
“Hence, my conclusion is that there probably is a role for a tax if business of all sizes
and from all sectors are to are to contribute to improved energy efficiency and help meet the UK's emission targets”
Economic instruments and the business use of energy, A report by Lord Marshall,
HM Treasury, London, November 1998.

[4] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) 'Special Report on Aviation and the Global Atmosphere' was approved by Government representatives at the 15th Plenary Session of the IPCC in Costa Rica from April 15th-18th 1999.

The IPCC Special Report says:
. Planes are responsible for 3.5 per cent of man-made global warming today;
. They could account for up to 15 per cent of global warming by 2050;
. More efficient engines, better air traffic control and other operational improvements will not stop emissions rising, as the number of people flying grows.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust