Hughes quizzes Benn on Heathrow

1.53.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 3rd May 2008

[Apr 30] Simon Hughes (Shadow Leader of the House of Commons; North Southwark & Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat): What recent assessment he has made of the environmental effect of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation.

Hilary Benn (Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Leeds Central, Labour): Aviation's climate change impact is currently responsible for about 6 or 7 per cent. of the UK's total carbon dioxide emissions and 1.6 per cent. of global CO2 emissions. Recent research in 2000 by the European Commission's Tradeoff project suggested that the total climate change impact of aviation up to 2000 was 1.9 times greater than its CO2 impact alone.

Simon Hughes (Shadow Leader of the House of Commons; North Southwark & Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat): Given that the recent National Audit Office report showed that there have been no reductions in UK carbon dioxide emissions

" if measured on the basis of the Environmental Accounts",

which means that since 1990, if aviation and shipping emissions are included, we have had no reductions in CO2, may we have an assurance from the Secretary of State that when he talks to Transport Ministers about plans to build extra runways at Heathrow and elsewhere, and when the Climate Change Bill comes back to the House, aviation and shipping emissions will be included, not hidden away to pretend that they do not matter?

Hilary Benn (Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Leeds Central, Labour): There is no question of hiding anything away or saying that it does not matter. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Bill makes provision to include those emissions once there is international agreement on how to divide up responsibility, for example, for a flight that leaves Heathrow flown by an American airline, refuels in Dubai and ends up in Sydney, or for ships refuelling from bunker fuel ships in international waters with a Panamanian flag. It is a practical problem. The second thing that we are already doing will mean that aviation is included in the EU emissions trading scheme. As the hon. Gentleman will realise, that means that aviation emissions will be capped in Europe at their 2004-06 level and any growth above that will have to be compensated for by reductions elsewhere.