International protests held on Friday and Saturday against the environmental impacts of air traffic were today described a "big success" by the events' coordinator, Paul de Clerk of Friends of the Earth the Netherlands. Over 75 environment and citizens' groups from European and other countries demonstrated against rapidly rising air traffic growth and emissions.
The protestors' aim was to draw attention to environmental impacts of air traffic and the "favored position" it enjoys. "Air traffic, the most polluting means of transport, is kept artificially cheap", says Mr. de Clerk "The low prices cause an enormous growth of air traffic, causing growing environmental problems in the whole of Europe," he added.
Among the actions that were held, environmental groups sent an open letter to European Commissioners demanding that fiscal "privileges" the aviation sector currently enjoys be removed. The groups want to see VAT (sales tax) levied on aircraft tickets, an international tax on aviation fuel and differentiated airports landing charges.
Many demonstrations were also held, especially at airports and railway stations. Travelers arriving by long-distance train were rewarded by Santa Claus and helpers for not flying. Airport passengers were met by mock tax inspectors, asking them to pay aircraft taxes and to travel by train in future.
Activities were most intense in north-west Europe. In Germany, protests were held at over 20 airports and railway stations. In Belgium, activists presented the transport minister with a list of demands and demonstrated outside the major airports. In the Netherlands, protests focused on regional airports, whilst in Britain, travellers at major airports and train stations were targeted.
Though they had a European focus, protests were also mounted in other world regions. In Sydney, Australia, citizens' groups published a world-wide map showing the communities affected by aviation and new data on the environmental, economic and health impact of aviation. In the USA, activists wrote letters to politicians and the media and protested against the expansion of certain airports. And in Kyoto, Japan, demonstrators assembled outside the UN climate change conference building to highlight aviation's contribution to global warming. Mr de Clerk said that although it was unlikely the weekend protests would put aviation on the Kyoto agenda, they had succeeded in highlighting the environmental impact of air travel. "There is a growing sense of urgency within the [European] Commission," said Mr. Clerk, pointing to last week's proposal to reduce limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides from aircraft engines and a forthcoming Commission report on the feasibility of an EU tax on aviation fuel.
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