The Government today said airlines must do more to reduce their environmental impact, as it sought views on a new aviation policy.
Launching the scoping document, which aims to reconcile the economic growth of the
aviation industry with its responsibilities to reduce
carbon emissions as well as noise and pollution,
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the Government was not against growth of the industry, but it could not come "at any price".
"Aviation is a crucial part of this country's
transport infrastructure, it should be able to grow, prosper and support wider economic growth. But we are not prepared to support this growth at any price – the environmental impacts of flying – both local and global – must be addressed," he said.
Carbon emissions
The aviation industry is responsible for two per cent of the world’s man-made carbon emissions and although the recession and other events such as the volcanic eruption in Iceland, have meant a decline in emissions, globally they are set to grow again over the coming years.
The Government has already taken decisions not to support a third runway at Heathrow or further runways at Gatwick and Standsted. Hammond today said the aviation industry needed to do more itself to
reduce carbon emissions.
"The current pace of technological change is not fast enough to reconcile growth on the scale of recent years with meeting our climate change targets or, in relation to some airports, our aspirations on local environmental impacts," he said.
Sustainable Aviation
Last week, a coalition of airlines, airports, air traffic management and manufacturers set out the progress the UK aviation industry has made around emissions reductions and other environmental impacts. In particular, the third progress report by Sustainable Aviation highlighted emissions reductions at airports and successful trials of alternative fuels, during the period 2009-10. However, it has delayed publication of its report on broader emissions reductions until later in the year. The roadmap charts the industry’s path to reducing CO2 emissions to 2000 levels by 2050.
New policy framework
The Government’s new policy framework will replace the previous Government’s 'The Future of Air Transport White Paper’, published in 2003, which supported runway expansion at Stansted and Heathrow.
"This document asks a wide range of interested parties for their views on the key questions we face," said Hammond. "Clearly we won't agree on everything, but by working closely with key stakeholders at this early stage, we can provide a policy framework for aviation which strikes a balance between different interests."
Interested parties are being invited to submit their views up until the end of September. A draft aviation policy framework will then be published for consultation next March to be implemented in 2013.
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