Air miles programmes that reward frequent flyers should be scrapped because they encourage people to take more flights than they might otherwise, says a report commissioned by the government’s climate change advisers.
Instead of rewarding people who regularly travel by plane with more of the same – many schemes give free flights in return for points collected – jet-setters should be hit by a levy for ‘escalating air miles’, the report suggests.
Hundreds of frequent flyer schemes operate all over the world with different airlines – and are especially popular with frequent business flyers.
The report highlights that only 15% of the UK population are responsible for 70% of the flights taken every year, and many fall into the trap of taking extra flights because they want to maintain their “privileged traveller status”. By comparison, 50% of the UK does not fly at all in a given year.
The study proposes transforming the way we look at air travel. Instead of incentivising us to take more flights, schemes should be penalising those who do fly regularly – without targeting families wanting to take an annual holiday.
The report by Imperial College London, commissioned by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), also suggests that airlines advertise the carbon emissions of flights in a way that can be easily understood by customers.
“The norm of unlimited flying being acceptable needs to be challenged and, as a very highly polluting luxury, it is suitable to taxation,” the report says, adding that those who fly the most could “easily afford to pay more” and should not be the ones who are given access to discounted fares or free flights.
The report, Behaviour Change, Public Engagement and Net Zero, authored by Dr Richard Carmichael, said this type of policy change is “consistent” with the scale of the problem currently presented by climate change. It supports a statement from UK climate scientists in August that said if we want to reach the government’s intended greenhouse target by 2050 then we need big changes, not just small, easy ones.
The biggest carbon footprints for UK households are domestic travel, followed by diet, home heating and aviation. The report recommends slashing prices on intercity rail services to reduce demand for cars and planes, and reopening disused rail lines.
Other recommendations address sustainable living, food waste and dietary changes – including eating less meat and dairy products, replacing them with plant-based food. Suggestions include introducing at least one plant-based meal option for school children in all schools and mandatory ‘traffic-light’ style labels on food products to show the environmental impact of production.
The UK is the world’s first major economy to legally commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 after the ambitious target was recommended by the CCC.