t language="javascript">var _hbEC=0,_hbE=new Array;function _hbEvent(a,b){b=_hbE[_hbEC++]=new Object();b._N=a;b._C=0;return b;}var hbx=_hbEvent("pv");hbx.vpc="HBX0100u";hbx.gn="tgd.timesonline.co.uk";// set vars to be used belowvar urlReturnCid = "";var urlReturnAttr = "";// First, we load the URL into a variable var url = window.location.href;// Next, split the url by the # var qparts = url.split("#");// Check that there is a querystring if (qparts.length == 2) { // Set the second half of string to var var query = qparts[1]; // Next, split that string by the & var varQ = query.split("&"); if (varQ.length == 2) { // Lastly split by = and assign to vars var retQ1 = varQ[0].split("="); var retQ2 = varQ[1].split("="); urlReturnCid = retQ1[1]; urlReturnAttr = retQ2[1]; } }//BEGIN EDITABLE SECTION//CONFIGURATION VARIABLEShbx.acct="DM5308072BEF";//ACCOUNT NUMBER(S)hbx.pn="/0,,3701,00.html";//PAGE NAME(S)hbx.mlc="CONTENT+CATEGORY";//MULTI-LEVEL CONTENT CATEGORYhbx.pndef="title";//DEFAULT PAGE NAMEhbx.ctdef="full";//DEFAULT CONTENT CATEGORY//OPTIONAL PAGE VARIABLES//ACTION SETTINGShbx.fv="";//FORM VALIDATION MINIMUM ELEMENTS OR SUBMIT FUNCTION NAMEhbx.lt="none";//LINK TRACKINGhbx.dlf="n";//DOWNLOAD FILTERhbx.dft="n";//DOWNLOAD FILE NAMINGhbx.elf="n";//EXIT LINK FILTER//SEGMENTS AND FUNNELShbx.seg="";//VISITOR SEGMENTATIONhbx.fnl="";//FUNNELS//CAMPAIGNShbx.cmp=urlReturnCid;//CAMPAIGN IDhbx.cmpn="";//CAMPAIGN ID IN QUERYhbx.dcmp="";//DYNAMIC CAMPAIGN IDhbx.dcmpn="";//DYNAMIC CAMPAIGN ID IN QUERYhbx.dcmpe="";//DYNAMIC CAMPAIGN EXPIRATIONhbx.dcmpre="";//DYNAMIC CAMPAIGN RESPONSE EXPIRATIONhbx.hra=urlReturnAttr;//RESPONSE ATTRIBUTEhbx.hqsr="";//RESPONSE ATTRIBUTE IN REFERRAL QUERYhbx.hqsp="";//RESPONSE ATTRIBUTE IN QUERYhbx.hlt="";//LEAD TRACKINGhbx.hla="";//LEAD ATTRIBUTEhbx.gp="";//CAMPAIGN GOALhbx.gpn="";//CAMPAIGN GOAL IN QUERYhbx.hcn="";//CONVERSION ATTRIBUTEhbx.hcv="";//CONVERSION VALUEhbx.cp="null";//LEGACY CAMPAIGNhbx.cpd="";//CAMPAIGN DOMAIN//CUSTOM VARIABLEShbx.ci="";//CUSTOMER IDhbx.hc1="";//CUSTOM 1hbx.hc2="";//CUSTOM 2hbx.hc3="";//CUSTOM 3hbx.hc4="";//CUSTOM 4hbx.hrf="";//CUSTOM REFERRERhbx.pec="";//ERROR CODES//INSERT CUSTOM EVENTS//END EDITABLE SECTION//REQUIRED SECTION. CHANGE "YOURSERVER" TO VALID LOCATION ON YOUR WEB SERVER (HTTPS IF FROM SECURE SERVER)Despite growing concerns about climate change, Tony Blair last week ruled out the introduction of an emissions tax on air passengers.

To deter travellers, any tax “would have to be a fairly hefty whack”, the prime minister said, adding that it would be difficult to sell to voters, and that he preferred to wait for the development of new technologies to reduce aircraft emissions.

Despite Blair’s protestations, experts argue that we could soon be paying more to offset our carbon emissions than we are for the actual airline ticket. According to a Friends of the Earth study, the world’s 16,000 passenger planes generate 600m tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, making air travel the biggest single contributor to greenhouse gases. Airlines pay neither duty nor Vat on aviation fuel, tickets or new aircraft — and between 1994 and 2004, the cost of international fares from the UK fell by 41% in real terms.

Lynne Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat MP who sits on the all-party environmental audit select committee, says that the cheap rides have to stop. “If we keep jetting off like there’s no tomorrow, there may be no tomorrow,” she said.

Featherstone told The Sunday Times that the principle that “the polluter should pay” was one of the four key objectives in the government’s 2003 report on aviation and the environment.

Richard Dyer, of Friends of the Earth, said: “Tony Blair is living in cloud-cuckoo-land if he believes technology will significantly cut aviation emissions. There is virtually no prospect of a big technological breakthrough for decades. If the government is serious about addressing climate change, Gordon Brown should increase air-passenger duty in the budget next month.”

Politicians and lobbyists agree with the prime minister that any tax levied as a deterrent would have to be substantial to be effective. “Twenty quid won’t make any difference,” said Tim Yeo MP, a former environment minister, “and people would have to be certain that their money was offsetting the environmental cost of flying and not going to the Treasury.”

Research by the analysts Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein suggests that the best way for the government to raise funds to fight climate change and deter travellers is to designate air-passenger duty an emissions tax and double it. This increase — from £5 to £10 for economy flights within the EU and up to £40 for long-haul — would reduce passenger volumes for British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair by 2.3%, 4.8% and 7.6% respectively.

When asked if it agreed with the imposition of a green tax for flying, Ryanair declined to comment, but Sue Redmond, of BA Connect, the new no-frills service from British Airways, said that “passengers can already pay via a link from the airline’s website for the cost of the emissions created by their journey."

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