lord of the blog

Main | »

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

First entry

This is the first entry on my Weblog. Please click "About" for details of my interests and past activities - or at least some of them!
This entry is about a seminar I chaired yesterday at the Institute of Civil Engineers on Aviation and Climate Change. The seminar was hosted by the British Airports Authority and the main speakers were Mike Clasper,Chief Executive of BAA; Tony McNulty MP UK Aviation Minister; Margot Wallstrom, EU Enviroment Commissioner; Roger Higman, Senior Climate and Transport Campaigner for Friends of the Earth; and Andrew Sentance,Chief Economist and Head of Enviromental Affairs for British Airways.
The seminar considered the possibility of integrating aviation into a credible emissions trading scheme. There is very real concern about climate change and we need policies that tackle that threat effectively but without major disruption of our economic systems.
Taxation policy has been considered as another option but BAA wanted to propose a credible alternative with emissions trading in line with Kyoto policies.
This is still early days in a complex but important debate. I hope there will be more opportunities to look for credible and effective solutions to one of the most important issues facing all of us.
I am sure BAA and Friends of the Earth will want to give more thought to the options available and their web sites might have further information.

This seminar followed on from a workshop in March, where BAA chief executive, Mike Clasper, launched our climate change dialogue, to explore how aviation could be integrated into a credible emissions trading regime.

We established an emissions trading steering group, which had representatives from BAA, airlines, ngos (Aviation Environment Federation, Forum for the Future and Friends of the Earth) and government officials, to take forward the outputs from the workshop. Expert consultants, OXERA, were commissioned by the group to consider the impact of a range of policy scenarios on the aviation industry - looking ahead to 2050.

At the seminar Mike Clasper called for the different parties to do the following:

"For the European Commission, it means making a link between EU aviation and EU emissions trading. We can compromise. A link does not have to mean full integration. We should be willing to give up the right to sell permits. The point is - we believe this can and must be taken out of the “too difficult box”.

For the UK Government, it means strong, clear political leadership for an EU approach to emissions trading. That support should be clearly expressed in the Aviation White Paper and vigorously prosecuted in negotiations with EU colleagues. A Government led implementation process, bringing together the interested parties, could help drive forward action and provide formal accountability. BAA is ready to play its full part.

For the aviation industry, we must settle our differences and unite behind a practical approach to a problem which demands a solution. This means accepting higher costs. But it also means avoiding a future in which politicians feel impelled to impose ever higher taxes.

For NGOs, no one doubts your commitment to addressing the problem of climate change. But you too need to focus on solutions that deliver."

Copies of all the speeches and OXERA's report are available on our website: baa.com/sustainability

Congratulations on starting your blog! I will watch it develop with keen interest.

good to see another MPs weblog, maybe its time Tony Blair started one.
Seems a good way to get people more interested in politics and get them voting.

Well done Clive, now if only the tories could get their act together (in every respect)

Many congratulations on launching your blog, Clive. I'll read it with great interest and I've mentioned it on my own blog here:
http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/nighthawk/

Keep up the good work! i`m a firm supporter of anyone involved in productive discussions on the environment, and happen to believe that of all the govornments environmental policies related to climate change mitigation it is their aviation 'policy' which requires most immediate revision.