Greens welcome think-tank endorsement of aviation ad policy
05 April 2007
The Institute for Public Policy Research, one of the leading UK independent think-tanks on the centre left, has today said the Government should introduce cigarette-style health warnings on all advertising for air travel, holidays that include flights, and at airports. (1)
Since their conference a year ago in in March 2006, the Green Party has been calling for similar measures, and the Party's manifesto says it would introduce mandatory warnnings to be included on all advertisements for air travel, along with details of the carbon dioxide emissions for each flight advertised. The Greens' scheme would also place this information on flight tickets.
Green Party Principal Speaker Siân Berry welcomed the IPPR report:
"Aviation is the fastest growing source of dangerous carbon emissions but how many people are really aware of the impact their individual flights will have?
"Health warnings on airline advertising would go a long way to curbing the dangerous and increasing impacts of flying. It's just common sense.
"Runaway climate change will kill more people than those that die from smoking; isn't it time we did something about it?"
"Emissions released at altitude have an enhanced warming effect on the climate compared with emissions from land-based sources, because of things like water vapour and ozone reactions.
"Taking this into account means emissions from flying make up more than 10 per cent of the UK's overall emissions, and this is increasing rapidly. (1)
The Green Party campaigns for UK and/or EU legislation for mandatory warnings to be included on all advertisements for air travel. These warnings would include information about the effects of climate change and details of the carbon dioxide emissions of the flights advertised. The same information would also be included on flight tickets and would take up a significant and specified proportion of the area of each advert/ticket.
The Green Party also seeks to end the UK tax-payers massive subsidisation of aviation - airlines receive over £9 billion in tax breaks each year because of tax-free fuel and VAT-free tickets and planes.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1) Please see: www.ippr.org.uk
