§ Mr. PriskTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact he estimates a reduction in passenger demand for air travel as a result of the introduction of proposals to introduce environmental taxation on air travel, outlined in Aviation and the Environment, would have on Government estimates of passenger demand cited in 'The Future Development of Air Transport in the South East'. [105240]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere would be no material difference as this has already been taken into account. Demand forecasts in The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom' consultation document took into account aviation's contribution to climate change, by far the most significant environmental cost. They did so by assuming a CO2 tax in place by 2015 to internalise aviation's climate change costs.
The recent discussion paper 'Aviation and the Environment: Using Economic Instruments' cites a figure of £1.4 billion as the estimated annual cost of aviation's contribution to climate change. The costs are similar to the value of the CO2tax, which was assumed in the demand forecasts.