Madam, - John Gibbons (July 15th) has now had two attempts to explain how increasing taxes will reduce (or have any effect on) global warming. But like all his fellow-travellers, he has on both occasions ducked the issue.
Maybe on his third attempt he will explain how higher consumer taxes, leading to greater Government waste, will have any effect on global warming.
I wouldn't hold my breath, because none of these misguided people has ever been able to explain how higher taxation will reduce carbon emissions. For example, motor vehicles are savagely taxed, yet they account for 18 per cent (and rising) of Europe's CO2 emissions, whereas air travel accounts for less than 2 per cent.
1. While Mr Gibbons is at it, perhaps he would stop referring to "climate change", which has always and will always be with us, and speak more accurately about "global warming".
2. Perhaps he would also explain why, as Nigel Lawson has recently accurately pointed out, average global temperatures have not risen in the last 10 years. Why are we in Ireland having record rainfall in June and July rather than heatwaves?
3. Perhaps he would explain why he advocates increased taxes on air travel, which accounts for less than 2 per cent of the EU's CO2 emissions, but exempts marine travel, which accounts for more than double that figure at 5 per cent.
4. Perhaps he would confirm his support for nuclear power in Europe, which by replacing the 26 per cent of EU CO2 emissions currently produced by the power generating industry, would reduce the EU's CO2 emissions by 13 times the tiny 2 per cent generated by the airline industry.
5. If Mr Gibbons is so concerned about borrowing this world from our children and their children, perhaps he should focus on doing something useful during his time on the planet, like reducing the burden of taxation on his children and their children and reducing the income of Europe's greatest polluters (our governments).
Finally, I hate to disappoint Mr Gibbons, but flying is in fact cheap and thanks to Ryanair it will get cheaper. Won't that be good news for his children and their children when they want to go on holidays to avoid the increased rainfall and lower temperatures currently being endured in Ireland - due (I presume, Mr Gibbons) to rapid global warming and Ryanair's low fares? - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O'LEARY, Chief Executive, Ryanair, Dublin Airport.
Madam, - Michael O'Leary's letter of July 12th contained some gems of ad hominem argument. I counted nine instances of "eco-" being used as a pejorative prefix (eg "eco-nut"). I can only suppose Mr O'Leary was more fulminatory than normal due to a bad week at the office and air traffic control chaos in Dublin Airport.
Mr O'Leary's forte is putting "bums on seats", not expounding objectively on the facts of aviation and climate change. He referred to the European Environmental Agency but omitted to mention that its most recent report notes a 73 per cent increase in CO2 emissions from air travel between 1990 and 2005. It states that growth in the aviation sector far exceeds that of any other mode of transport and that fuel efficiencies will not be adequate to keep pace with the concomitant increase in emissions.
At a time when the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us it is imperative that we do everything possible to reduce emissions urgently, the aviation industry is unabashedly promoting flying as if it were some kind of basic human right and not the luxury it often is.
The developed world makes a disproportionately large contribution to global emissions. Just one return flight from Dublin to Alicante in Spain generates more carbon dioxide than is necessary to sustain the lifestyle of an average inhabitant of Sudan for a full year. The tragedy is that, while we get the lifestyle perks, countries in the developing world have to suffer the consequences in the form of floods and drought.
Richard Branson showed a refreshing example to the aviation industry last year by launching a £25 million prize to encourage research into extracting carbon from the atmosphere. However, if technology is to provide answers, we have years, not decades, to get it right.
Realistically, we need to wean ourselves off flying today for the sake of tomorrow's generations.- Yours, etc ,
PETER ANTHONY O'SULLIVAN, Tipper Road, Naas, Co. Kildare.