Archived press release

Foe says "thanks for travelling by train and not by plane"

5 December 1997

As world leaders fly to Kyoto to talk about climate change, Santa Claus will greet Eurostar passengers at Waterloo International Station on Friday morning [1] with sweets and leaflets thanking them for using the train [2]. The leaflets will also explain the environmental problems of air travel.

Meanwhile "the tax man" will visit Heathrow to collect unpaid duty as West London Friends of the Earth hold a photo call at 12:00 noon highlighting the fact that airlines pay no tax on the fuel they use (meet outside the Ramada Hotel, Bath Road, Heathrow where the public inquiry into the fifth terminal is taking place [3]).

The actions form part of a day of action in support of Friends of the Earth's "Right Price for Air Travel" Campaign which aims to end unfair tax subsidies to the air transport industry[4]. More than 70 environment and community groups in 17 European countries, the USA,Australia, and Japan are supporting the day.

Roger Higman, Friends of the Earth's Senior Transport Campaigner, said

"The air transport industry is a major environmental nuisance. Internationally, it is THE fastest growing cause of global warming. Locally, it makes life a misery for those who have to live near airports. The industry has grown so fast because it is exempt from fuel taxes and VAT. This exemption must end if its environmental impact is to be controlled and reduced."

"We've learnt painful lessons with roads that we cannot keep applying the "predict and provide" planning mentality to meet future demand. And it's the same with air transport. The artificially low price of aviation fuel simply subsidises air travel's alarming growth rate and adds to the environmental damage air travel and airport expansion causes."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Father Christmas will be at the Eurostar terminal, Waterloo International station,from 8.30 am to 10.30 am.

[2] A survey reported in the Evening Standard last week revealed that around two-thirds of London businessmen travelling to Paris and Brussels choose to travel by train -either Eurostar or Le Shuttle - rather than by plane (Evening Standard 27th November 1997 "Chunnel trains leave planes in their tracks")

[3]The public inquiry into the fifth terminal at Heathrow is the longest running inquiry in British history. If built, the fifth terminal would enable at least 80 million people to use the airport every year. This would lead to an increase in flights over densely populated areas and a massive increase in local traffic and pollution. An extra 21,000 car parking spaces are to be provided at the airport.

[4]The "Right Price for Air Travel" campaign wants to see the urgent introduction of a worldwide tax on aviation fuel to reduce air travel demand and ensure the industry pays the true costs of its environmental impact. Jet exhaust emissions from air transport are increasingly identified as a major contributor to global warming.Aviation accounts for almost 3% of the global CO2 that comes from fossil fuels,about the same as the entire UK economy.

The "Right Price for Air Travel" Campaign will be launched in the UK at 11.15 am this Friday, 5th December 1997. Venue: the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street,Manchester.

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