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Air industry must pay eco taxes says caa
3 December 2002
But do they really mean it?
Friends of the Earth welcomed today’s admission from the Civil Aviation Authority that the air industry “should meet the full costs of its environmental impact``. The comments were made by CAA chairman Sir Roy McNulty at a conference on regional airports in Manchester.
Friends of the Earth’s aviation campaigner Paul de Zylva said:
“We are pleased that the CAA recognises that the aviation industry should pay for the pollution and damage it causes. But this must not lead to a system that allows airports to expand if they ‘buy off’ the local authority for the loss of countryside or villages. It must also pay the cost of air and noise pollution, extra traffic, habitat destruction, ozone depletion and climate change. If the aviation industry paid the full cost of the enormous damage it causes there might not be any need to build new airports or expand existing ones.
“The Government’s consultation on airports is already outdated. It totally ignores the effect that environmental taxes would have on the demand for flights. The Government should take its discredited consultation back to the drawing board.”
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
