Green's are on the case!
"Outrageous proposition"
News that Luton airport is planning to extend its current facilities and build a replacement terminal has provoked anger from the Green Party.
"This is an outrageous proposition. At a time when we most need to curb our carbon emissions, the airline industry - the fastest growing contributor to climate change - seem determined to drive us to a point where the earth is no longer habitable," commented Marc Scheimann, local Green Party member and candidate for Luton South in the recent General Election.
"If passenger numbers do triple by 2030, as the reasoning behind this decision suggests, the effects on this area will be disastrous. Such expansion is inevitable if the current cheap flights bonanza continues.
"But these prices do not reflect the real cost of flying - the irreversible effect on our climate. Indeed, airline fuel - unlike car fuel - is not taxed. This amounts to massive public subsidisation of the aviation industry - to the tune of some £9.2 billion in the UK alone. This is in direct violation of the 'polluter pays' principle, something the Government claims to support.