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Finance Bill

For the purposes of this debate, there are a number of precedents that I wish to cite. I set them out in some detail to the Chairman of the Procedure Committee, to which I will refer, to Conservative Front Benchers and to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy), who speaks for the Liberal Democrats on the matter. What is clear is that aviation currently is responsible for nearly 6 per cent. of the United Kingdom’s carbon dioxide emissions, but that figure is rising and aviation is also responsible for other non-carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Very few contest the case that that under-taxed industry should at least cover the climate change costs that it imposes, and very few contest that action is necessary to encourage aviation to reduce the climate change impact. While the Government continue to push and have led the arguments for aviation to be included in the European Union emissions trading scheme, which we view as the best, most effective and most efficient policy instrument available, it is right to look at what can be done domestically with the policy tools at our disposal at this point. That is what we said in the air transport White Paper in 2003, in the Budgets in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and in the energy review in 2006.