UK opposition party lay out their plans for the future if they win back power

The UK Labour party will attempt to amend the Civil Aviation Bill to require airlines to print on tickets, for domestic flights and those to European destinations, not just the emissions but also the equivalent lower emissions if they had travelled by rail.
The amendments, set to be debated and voted on in committee on Tuesday, would enable passengers to have better information on which mode of travel could offer a lower carbon footprint. This follows Labour’s previous attempt to amend the Civil Aviation Bill to toughen up environmental obligations on the aviation industry which were defeated by Conservative and Liberal Democrat members of the Bill committee. The first amendment sought to place on the CAA a new obligation to consider the impact on the environment and on local communities of airports. A second amendment was the first ever attempt to place in law an obligation on the industry to work with the Government to meet the United Kingdom’s carbon reduction obligations. The Government has refused to recommit to the targets on reducing emissions from aviation set by Labour. Maria Eagle MP, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, said: "High speed rail will increasingly provide realistic alternatives to flying. If the Government is serious about climate change then it should back this simple idea which would enable passengers to make informed decisions about the greenest way to get around Britain and the continent. "It is incredible that the Liberal Democrats joined forces with the Tories to vote down our attempt to put into law an obligation on the aviation industry to meet the targets we backed in Government to cut emissions. Instead of continually setting back the battle against climate change, the Government should back our further attempt to use the aviation legislation before parliament to live up to the Prime Minister’s increasingly laughable claim to want to lead the greenest Government ever." UK aviation executives will be hoping that Labour stay out of power for the foreseeable future no doubt.