The RAF could be
restricted from low-flying exercises over the Lake District and
Cumbria as a whole after concerns were raised about the environment.
Calls have been made for
the military to be included in the European Unions Emission Trading
Scheme in order to cap the RAF’s green house gas emissions after the
military was considered energy intensive.
Members of the European
Parliament are to vote on the topic next week and if given the
go-ahead, the government will be forced to buy “emission permits” to
allow fighters to fly from 2010.
This could see training
exercises, such as low-flying, significantly reduced in our country.
Although the scheme
would not include military flights performed by military aircraft as
part of an international mission, flights performed for a purely
national mission will be incorporated in ETS which the Conservatives
do not agree with. The party has backed plans to bring the aviation
sector into the scheme, but believe flights which are part of a
humanitarian mission should not be included.
The idea has come under
fire from North West MEP Sir Robert Atkins. Sir Robert, the
Conservative deputy leader in the European Parliament and former
minister for Aerospace said: “We believe in this proposal to put
Europe at the forefront of the fight against climate change, but
attempts to include military flights if they are not “part of an
international mission” are unrealistic. “Conservatives will vote to
make sure that all military flights are excluded from the scheme”
The ETS, which was
launched in 2005, aims to cap greenhouse gas emissions from
industries and allow companies to buy and sell emission permits with
each other.
