How green is the new APD?
Wednesday, 03 Dec, 2009
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TravelMole Guest Opinion by Roger Heape, chairman, the Travel Foundation
In the run-up to the Copenhagen climate change conference next week, the focus on carbon emissions from aviation highlights that the UK Government’s recent change to air passenger duty was a missed opportunity to encourage a more sustainable industry.
It is not for me to comment on the level of taxation on aviation – that is clearly a political decision.
However, as chairman of the Travel Foundation, it is appropriate to suggest ways in which a tax on aviation could be levied in a more sustainable way.
I believe that a simple principle should apply – the polluter should pay.
APD should stand for airplane duty – a tax levied on individual aircraft which is linked as closely as possible to their CO2 emissions via a sliding scale related to fuel efficiency, flight patterns and distances – not Air Passenger Duty.
The advantage of this direct link to emissions is that it rewards those airlines that invest in modern fuel efficient fleets and penalises those operating older, fuel hungry aircraft. And it gives some ethical validity for a tax which in some shape or form will eventually come through onto the passengers’ ticket price.
Any environmental tax should reward efficiency in filling aircraft seats and penalise airlines with half-empty flights.
And it should encompass cargo aircraft. These currently escape tax and operate some of the oldest, least efficient aircraft – the gas guzzlers of the sky.
Of course the level of emissions is clearly related to the distance flown. However, the zoning accompanying the new APD even ignores this basic principle. Hawaii is in a lower charge band than the Caribbean!
It is destinations such as the Caribbean, where the economy is heavily reliant on tourism, that will be disproportionately affected by such a blunt tool such as APD in its current form.
Not only are the charge bands for APD inconsistent, but the current system neglects to accommodate the fact that emissions are related to the fuel efficiency of the aircraft type itself. Both distance and aircraft type should be used in calculating the plane tax.
Copenhagen is an opportunity for governments to provide a more appropriate, relevant mechanism which is more closely related to climate change impacts, to help us become a more sustainable industry.
Phil Davies
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