Addressing climate change means re-examining personal behaviour and, yes, state subsidies to airlines as well, writes Ciarán Cuffe
IT'S HARD to know whether Michael O'Leary is in the denial or the anger stage of facing up to climate change. Clearly he took some satisfaction in his recent rants on the letters pages that accused columnist John Gibbons of belonging to the "eco-loonie" camp. Like a latter day Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, he has failed to realise that the world has changed, and he must learn the new rules of the game. He was at it again on Wednesday, addressing an Oireachtas Committee on Transport. Ironically next door the Climate Change Committee listened to submissions on the European Union's proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Surely by now O'Leary must realise that times have moved on, and it is only fair that the aviation sector picks up the tab for its fair share of the costs of climate change.
As regards the science, O'Leary's suggestion that aviation is only responsible for 2 per cent of emissions in Europe is incorrect.
According to the UK Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research EU 2005 aviation emissions were approximately 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), representing 4 per cent of total emissions, and they are increasing fast. This figure does not include indirect warming effects, such as those from nitrogen oxide emissions, contrails and cirrus cloud effects, so the overall impact on climate may be as high as 12 per cent.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated aviation's total impact at twice or as much as four times the 4 per cent figure. Whatever way you look at it, O'Leary is clearly playing down the figures.
Remarkably, aviation is not subject to many of the taxes that apply to road or rail users. Due to a loophole, jet fuel has historically been exempt from taxation, creating an anomaly in the market that favours airlines. Indeed, under Ireland's Essential Air Services Programme, some of Ryanair's routes such as the Dublin-Kerry service receive a handsome annual subsidy.
On mainland Europe Ryanair has also been given financial support by regional governments to fly to their airports. Thankfully the European Commission decided last week to address the free ride that O'Leary has enjoyed over recent years.
Proposals are being finalised to include aviation emissions in their Emissions Trading System. This will ensure that from 2012 passengers will pay a levy of €5 - €40 for a return journey. While this may not lead to an overnight change in behaviour, it is a
signal to air travellers that they cause climate change.
All that the Green Party is asking for is a level playing field in transport taxes. Marine travel should also be included in the scheme, and such a move would stimulate the production of more locally produced food and goods.
Prof Jacqueline McGlade of the European Environment Agency states matters clearly: "Transport has been a free-rider for too long when it comes to the fight against global warming and carbon emissions. We cannot continue to give privileges to less efficient transport modes."
Government action is important, but we must also consider our own behaviour. For the sake of the planet we must wean ourselves off the notion that a weekend bender in Prague has no consequences other than a hangover; or that a quick trip to New York for that must-have dress will only cause a temporary blip on the credit card.
Unlike other emissions, most flights are not as necessary as activities such as heating your home or growing food. Our greenhouse gas emissions are increasingly a contributory factor to the weather extremes that cause drought, flooding and the loss of lives in the developing world.
As Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the UK-government commissioned Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, has stated: "Climate change represents the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen."
Airline emissions exact a high price on the planet, and jobs in the industry come at a high price. O'Leary stated that it takes a thousand flights a year to sustain a single job. At a rough tally that's 100,000 kilos of CO2 emissions.
We must rethink airline subsidies, and concentrate more on creating employment in the new sunrise industries that use less carbon to create more jobs. O'Leary feels a switch to nuclear power might save the day, but even a doubling of nuclear power worldwide would only lead to a 5 per cent reduction in global CO2 emissions, and his arguments distract from the need to conserve energy and use it wisely.
He also confuses weather with climate, perhaps an understandable mistake to make when you spend time listening to climate change sceptics such as Nigel Lawson.
There are measures that can be taken to reduce airline emissions. Changes in the amount of air traffic control areas could ensure aircraft are not forced to zigzag around Europe. Reducing the military air space currently out of bounds to commercial planes could allow straight line flights between destinations and save fuel. Distributing aircraft loads more efficiently can also reduce emissions.
In fairness to Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's fleet is relatively young and efficient, but increases in flights quickly cancel out these efficiencies. For the sake of the planet we must wean ourselves off unlimited air travel.
There are alternatives to flying. I've rediscovered the art of slow travel over the last few years.
You can take a late morning ferry from Dún Laoghaire, and connect with a Virgin train at Holyhead that has you in the centre of London by early evening. Should you wish, a 10-minute walk from Euston to St Pancras railway station allows you to catch a Eurostar train that takes less than two hours to central Brussels.
The connection along Euston Road is shorter than many of the treks to airport departure gates.
On the train and ferry you can enjoy a full meal, get some work done or enjoy the view. You can even stretch your legs without disturbing fellow-passengers. You never have to remove your shoes, stand in line for more than a few moments or empty your drink into a bin before you board.
If you reserve a seat on some trains you're greeted by name at the carriage door. The lower carbon option is a remarkably pleasant alternative to plane travel.
I highly recommend it.
Ciarán Cuffe is the Green Party TD for Dún Laoghaire and his party's transport spokesman