Air travel currently accounts for approximately 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions, is the
fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions and it is expected to
triple by 2015.
Given that this is the case it is somewhat surprising that airline fuel is the cheapest in the world - due to the
industry being exempt from fuel taxes.
This situation (the result of an international agreement reached at the end of the Second World War) may be about to change, however, with the a
ministerial review in the UK suggesting that
airport tax should be increased by
£5 to £100 in order for air travel costs to better reflect the social and environmental impacts of the aviation industry... such as
noise + air pollution and airport expansion.