§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress the UK has made in reducing carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the proposed expansion of UK airports on meeting the targets. [126740]
§ Mr. MorleyThe UK's target under the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce emissions in a basket of six greenhouse gases to 12.5 per cent. below the base year level by 2008–12.
Data for emissions of the basket of six greenhouse gases for 2001, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in April 2003, show that emissions fell by 12.3 per cent. between the base year and 2001. Emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas fell by 5.3 per cent. between 1990 and 2001. Emissions of carbon dioxide for 2002 are provisionally estimated at 8 to 9 per cent. below the 1990 level. Total greenhouse gas emissions in 2002 are estimated to have been between 14–15 per cent. below the 1990 level, taking this provisional carbon dioxide estimate into account.
A decision on whether any additional airport capacity should be provided, and if so how much, will be reached later this year and set out in the Air Transport White Paper. The environmental effects of aviation and the implications for the UK's international commitments, including those under the Kyoto Protocol, will be taken into account in reaching these decisions.