Ken Livingstone supports carbon tax on frequent flyers
London mayor Ken Livingstone has voiced his support for carbon taxes on frequent flyers.
Speaking at the Guardian’s Climate Change Summit in London yesterday, Livingstone said he supported a tax similar to the one proposed earlier this year by the Conservative party, where people are entitled to one tax-free flight a year, but are charged for any additional flights.
“We are not being honest with people about aviation – the rate of increase from emissions from aviation is terrifying. The more £6 holidays to Marbella, the worse it is going to get,” he said.
“It is nice that people can have short-haul breaks but at what price to the planet?”
Livingstone also criticised government claims that an expansion in airport capacity was necessary for the UK economy, arguing that only 15%-18% of air traffic to and from London was related to business travel.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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