Soon we’ll pay the true price of air travel

Scarcely audible amid the storm of financial scandal last week was the sound of Labour overshooting its target on greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Change review, a report on progress towards greener government, evaporated over Westminster like a vapour trail behind a jumbo jet.

Uncontrolled air travel is a luxury that the planet cannot afford. It is not priced as such because subsidies skew the market. The government must end the airlines’ tax perks. If it cannot do so unilaterally it must lobby for international agreement for cleaner skies. If necessary, tradable carbon allowances such as those allotted to businesses may eventually have to be assigned to individual passengers. The courage to promote radical policies such as these will be the test of our politicians’ new-found commitment to fight global warming.

guardian