Thread by @FlightFree2019

A thread about THE IMPACT OF AVIATION EMISSIONS ON OUR CHILDREN inspired by @inter_gen’s 2012 ‘Flying in the Face of Fairness’ report.
if.org.uk/wp-content/upl…
Those of us who are parents do what we can to give our children the best possible start in life…

… For many parents, this will include taking our children to see the world. Travel broadens the mind, but air travel does so at the expense of those less fortunate than the traveller and is helping to destroy the world we are taking our children to see…
telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment…

… Flying abroad for a single holiday can wipe out all the other emissions-reducing measures a family may have adopted to help prevent climate breakdown and more than double the size of their household carbon footprint …
(calculations here: dropbox.com/s/awy663tofy3g…)

… Climate breakdown is increasing the severity and frequency of hurricanes and other extreme weather events, It was a key driver in the Syrian conflict which led to the current refugee crisis and is likely to trigger similar conflicts in the future…
independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…

… Climate breakdown will also have dramatic effects closer to home. @theCCCuk estimates that by the 2080s – in the lifetimes of todays children – up to 1.2 million homes may be at increased risk from coastal flood…
bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…

… If global temperatures are allowed to rise by 3ºC, the outline of the British isles will look very different as vast swathes of land, including food-producing areas like Lincolnshire, will be under water …
theguardian.com/environment/20…

… So while flying our children abroad might seem like giving them a good start, we're increasing the likelihood they'll grow up in a world with more extreme weather events (at home and abroad), more conflict, more refugees, more flooding and less food …
bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…

… So what are the alternatives? Holidaying closer to home and travelling by train is the most climate-friendly option, but is not currently as economically viable as flying for many families, given the prohibitively high costs of train tickets…
independent.co.uk/travel/news-an…

… If people are going to ditch the plane in favour of the train (or even the car) this cost imbalance will have to be reversed. Part of the problem is that UK rail fares are far higher than those of other countries …
telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ro…

… However the main reason flying is so cheap is that it’s effectively subsidised: jet fuel is the only fossil fuel banned from taxation by international treaty & plane tickets are zero-rated for UK VAT. @inter_gen’s 2012 report estimated this subsidy as 11 billion pounds a year.

…To put that £11bn into perspective, HMRC estimate the total tax avoidance from non-aviation multinationals to be £5.8bn a year. So if you boycott Amazon or Starbucks for paying too little tax, you should consider boycotting the aviation industry too…
ft.com/content/00de4f…

… @inter_gen’s 2012 report calculates that, if aviation was taxed fairly, the price of an average plane ticket would increase by £100 and suggests how the missing £11bn might be better spent. It could also be used to subsidise rail travel and other low-emission transport …

… The damage caused by aviation emissions has become the subject of mainstream public debate in Sweden and in April this year the Swedish government introduced an aviation tax to discourage flying and help prevent #ClimateBreakdown…
bit.ly/2Ugmiie

… We’d like it to be the subject of mainstream public debate in the UK too. UN experts say we only have 2 years to turn things around. By signing our pledge, our generation can show that they are serious about securing a better future for our children…
telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment…

… if you’re unable to pledge to be flight free next year, please consider having a flight free year in 2020. And please help us to spread the word by RTing this thread or just the next tweet and talking about the issue with your family and friends …

… This Christmas, give our children the gift of a better future by pledging to be flight free in 2019.
#FlightFree2019
ipetitions.com/petition/nofly…