Friends of the Earth today welcomed government plans to take action to compensate for the environmental damage caused by flights taken by Ministers and officials, making Departments more accountable for the impacts of their travel choices. However, investment in alternative options to flying must be the first priority within any Government strategy to combat climate change and they should set tough targets for reducing the number of flights taken.

Bryony Worthington, Senior Climate Campaigner, commented:

" We welcome this initiative in principle, but are very concerned about how it will be implemented - the UK is way off track for meeting its 2010 target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% (compared to 1990) and since Labour came to power they have failed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. This announcement looks set to ignore this fact by focusing on investment in projects to reduce emissions overseas when it should have been used to invest in projects in the UK. That way tax payers' money would have been helping to shift the UK to a cleaner more efficient society while helping to address the fact that as a nation we have emitted, and continue to emit, far more per person than most other countries around the world."

The government is expected to announce the details of these plans today (Monday). It proposes to calculate the impact on climate change of flights booked by key government departments including the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Transport. The Government will then invest money in projects that help to reduce the equivalent amount of emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases.

Once a tonne of carbon dioxide is released it stays in the atmosphere for up to 200 years, so avoiding emissions whenever possible remains by far the most effective way of tackling climate change. Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to announce new policies to reduce emissions from transport, including aviation, in the revised Climate Change Programme

expected to be published later this year.

Friends of the Earth is also concerned that the emissions reducing projects selected for investment

must be of the highest standard and genuinely contribute to reducing emissions. The environmental group says schemes claiming to account for emissions through tree planting are not the solution as this does not guarantee a real and lasting reduction in global concentrations of greenhouse gases. IT would also prefer that the Government invested in projects to reduce emissions closer to home - both the EU and the UK are not currently on track to meet their climate targets and taxpayers money could and should be focussed on projects that will take us towards these targets.

Notes