Up in the Air

Smoke up in the Air

Compelling video demonstrating the relationship between California's forest fires and global warming.

Health Warning on Travel?

There's a growing evidence to suggest that concerns about climate change will depress some market demand for long-haul travel. British consumers, now used to making several short-haul trips on low cost airlines, are being encouraged to travel by train and it's becoming politically correct to "cut back" long-haul trips. Whether this is a long-term trend, or a short-term reaction to recent media coverage, has yet to be determined. But Canadian destinations are advised to keep a closer eye on shifts in consumer values and behaviour. Here's just one example. We'll post more.

According to a press release put out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) that describes itself as a progressive think tank based in the UK, Government should introduce cigarette-style health warnings on all advertising for air travel, holidays that include flights, and at airports.

The ippr argues that providing consumers with highly visible information about the impacts their flying has on the environment will make people think more about the implications of their travel. The report says it would work in a similar way to health warnings on cigarette packs which help to encourage people to give up smoking. The report recommends:

• Large and clearly visible warnings such as Flying Causes Climate Change.
• Estimates of average emissions from the flight in question alongside the average individual’s emissions from energy use, to put the flight in context.

Simon Retallack, ippr Head of Climate Change, said:

“The evidence that aviation damages the atmosphere is just as clear as the evidence that smoking kills. We know that smokers notice health warnings on cigarettes, and we have to tackle our addiction to flying in the same way....."

The report also recommends that:

• Carbon offsetting of flights should be the default option, with passengers being required to opt-out rather than having to opt-in.
• Aviation taxation should be changed to reflect the true environmental cost of emissions.

The ippr book titled, Positive Energy: Harnessing people power to prevent climate change, by Simon Retallack and Tim Lawrence with Matthew Lockwood, will be published in April. It sets out a series of recommendations on how to stimulate climate-friendly behaviour through changes in domestic energy use and transport choices.