LittleYellowFrog

In another article which shows how the environmental movement is, at times, running to stand still, the BBC reports that we are on the cusp of a huge increase in air travel from India. Target passenger numbers of 100 million passengers a year for Delhi doesn’t bode well for the environment.

Nevertheless, the West is hardly in a position to preach here – we don’t seem to be doing a great deal to discourage air travel ourselves.

ScienceDaily reports that atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels are now at their highest levels since records began (379.1ppm in 2005). The article says that there has been a 35.4% rise in CO2 levels since the 1700’s.

The WMO report itself can be found here

According to the BBC, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee here in the UK has just recommended that taxes on air travel be increased to help fight our ever-increasing CO2 emissions. They also suggested that vehicle excise duty for vehicles which polute the most be increased even more than they have been already.

Interestingly, the Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman, appeared to be comfortable with suggestions about increasing excise duty for high-polluting cars but expressed concern about further taxes on air travel – citing the fact that this would penalise poor people and prevent them from taking holidays abroad.

If aircraft are one of the major causes of emissions then it would appear that a reduction in flights (and passengers) is necessary. Historically, aviation fuel has not been taxed – however, it looks like that may be about to change.

The BBC are also reporting that UK government ministers want filling stations to fit fume control systems. The idea is that this will stop 16,000 tonnes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs – or greenhouse-gas contributers) from escaping into the atmosphere each year (although this system wouldn’t be in place until 2010 the article seems to imply).