IMPOSING green taxes on flights would actually benefit the economy because they would encourage people to take holidays in Britain rather than spending their money abroad, according to a report by Oxford University.

The authors studied the impact of the drop in demand for air travel after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and found that the British economy was boosted by a £555 million net increase in tourism spending.

As people shunned flying, the reduction in overseas visitors coming to Britain was more than outweighed by the rise in domestic tourism. Domestic spending rose by £1.678 billion while spending by overseas tourists fell by £1.123 billion.

The report, by the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University, said that emissions of carbon dioxide from the British aviation industry had more than doubled since 1990 and would double again by 2030 under the Government’s plans to build several new runways.

The report concludes: “The UK will be unable to meet its targets for reducing climate change impacts without action to curb the demand for air travel.”

The authors dismissed the aviation industry’s claim that continued growth in flights was necessary to support the economy and maintain business links with other countries. They found that for each flight made for business reasons, five were taken by leisure travellers.

“The UK is increasingly developing an air-dependent culture. If action to tackle flying is postponed, we will enter an era in which frequent flying is increasingly the norm for better-off households, with lifestyles adapted to this expectation.”

Britain generates more flights than any other European country and a fifth of all international air passengers worldwide are on flights that arrive or leave from British airports. Last year, British residents spent £17 billion more on leisure trips abroad than overseas tourists spent here.

The report recommended an immediate increase in air passenger duty, which is now £5 for short-haul flights and £20 for long-haul flights. “Raising air passenger duty is legally straightforward and does not require international agreement, unlike other measures such as aviation fuel taxation.”

It added: “Another policy that deserves serious consideration is the addition of VAT to domestic air tickets.”

The report said that the Government’s preferred solution — including aviation in the European emissions trading scheme — would not hap- pen for several years, and even then might have only a limited impact on overall emissions.

The Government claims that aviation could join the emissions trading scheme by 2008 but ministers privately admit that it is unlikely to happen until 2012.

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