Peter Ainsworth MP, chairman of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, has called for a fundamental rethink of the policies set out in the Government 2003 Aviation White Paper.
Speaking today at the Greener by Design conference, hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society, Peter Ainsworth said that next year’s review of the White Paper provided an opportunity for fresh thinking about the environmental impact of aviation, and he urged the Government to move away from a discredited ‘predict and provide’ approach to the industry.
Mr Ainsworth set out some key issues which the review should address including:
- A reappraisal of future growth assumptions;
- The impact of the recent increase in oil prices;
- A re-assessment of the scale of the environmental impacts of aviation;
- A realistic analysis of the likely reduction in CO2 emissions which can come from new technology and design.
The Department of Transport needs to stop avoiding addressing the contribution that aviation makes to climate change, and to understand that its present policies are incompatible with the Government’s stated CO2 reduction targets.
“The DfT needs to know that denial is no substitute for debate if it wishes to avoid becoming a pariah department”, he said.
|
