Lib Dem conference points spotlight on Aviation taxation (South West Surrey Liberal Democrats)

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats <info@swsurreylibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dem conference points spotlight on Aviation taxation

March 11, 2006 11:53 PM

Members of South West Surrey Lib Dems attended the recent Spring conference in Harrogate. Among the many issues debated was a policy on aviation and the impact the industry has on Climate Change.

The Conference noted:

i) The Government's current projections that demand for air travel in the UK will treble by the year 2030 and that meeting this demand could be hugely damaging to the environment.

ii) The importance of the aviation industry to the UK economy.

Conference believes that the UK must meet its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% of the 1990 level by 2050 and that the aviation industry must make its contribution to meeting that target, and therefore reduce its emissions.

Conference calls for the adoption of an aviation policy that aims to:

a) Bring about a long-term lowering of greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible cost.

b) Reduce air congestion.

c) Encourage the use of cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

d) Avoid damaging social, economic and environmental consequences.

e) Ensure that the international competitiveness of the UK aviation industry is not reduced.

Conference believes that market-based measures are the most effective route to achieve these goals and therefore supports the following measures to reduce aviation emissions, as set out in policy paper 71, A Soft Landing: Creating a Sustainable Market in Aviation: (weblink: http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/71Aviation.pdf )

1. Abolishing Air Passenger Duty and replacing it with a pollution charge paid directly by airline operators rather than directly by passengers.

2. Entering aviation into the European Union Emission Trading Scheme as the main route to curb emissions but continuously monitoring it for its effectiveness.

3. Ruling out further runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

4. Introducing a presumption into the planning system of no new runways elsewhere except where there is a clear economic, social and environmental need and ensuring that the concerns of affected communities are given full consideration.

5. Permitting the auctioning of new runway slots at those airports where they have a monetary value, with the proceeds raised invested in public transport.

6. Allowing airline operators to trade existing airport slots.

7. Ending the regulation that requires operators of the busiest airports to subsidise landing charges from retail rents to help reduce air congestion and make other airports more competitive.

8. Developing a high-speed rail network in the UK as an attractive alternative to short-haul domestic and European flights.

The debate was led by Tom Brake MP, Shadow Transport Secretary, and his speech can be found here: http://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/speech-by-tom-brake-mp-liberal-democrat-shadow-transport-secretary.html