Should the UK ban short domestic flights?
Some people say the UK should follow France’s example.
In 2019, French president Emmanuel Macron created the Citizen’s Convention on Climate. This was a group of 150 French citizens who were asked to think of ways that France could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% over the next 10 years. One of the ideas they put forward was banning any domestic flights (flights within the country) where the same journey could be made in less than four hours by train. However, opposition from airlines and people living in remote areas of France meant that this was reduced to train journeys of two and a half hours. On 10 April, French MPs voted in favour of the idea. Some say the UK should do the same thing to help tackle climate change. What do you think? Should the UK ban short domestic flights?
Yes – it’s better for the environment
Flights are a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Over a six-day period in 2019, domestic flights in the UK emitted almost 4,416 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Given this, flights should only be taken when they are absolutely necessary. People don’t need to get on a plane to go from one part of the UK to another. Most big cities in the UK have more than one railway station, and there are more than 2,500 stations in the UK in total. This makes train travel a convenient, easily accessible and more environmentally friendly alternative to flying. Travelling by rail also means that people can get to see much more of the country than they would do sitting on a plane.
No – it will cause problems elsewhere
If people aren’t allowed to travel by plane any more, they might decide to drive instead. Cars are another big source of greenhouse gas emissions, so this won’t help the environment. Trains can be very expensive, and banning domestic flights might make them overcrowded. Besides, trains aren’t completely clean. A journey by train causes about 40% as much pollution as one by aeroplane, and fewer flights would mean more trains would be needed to carry the extra passengers. Could the rail network cope? People should have the option to take a flight if that’s what they want to do. There are better ways of protecting the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions than limiting people’s ability to travel.