Green MEP Molly Scott Cato is urging people to go the whole of 2020 without taking a single flight as part of her opposition to Bristol Airport’s expansion plans.
Bristol Airport has unveiled plans to extend its current site in order to accommodate an additional two million passengers a year – a move backed by Marvin Rees, the city’s Labour mayor.
But environmental campaigners have protested against the proposals, fearing it could add to the region’s air pollution and even stunt the growth of babies in the womb, according to one study.
The airport is used by 10m passengers annually but bosses want to double that by the 2040s.
Ms Scott Cato, who campaigned to be MP for Bristol West at the 2017 general election, is urging those concerned to take matters into their own hands and sign-up to the “flight-free 2020” pledge.
The European Parliament politician said, bar a cross-continental flight to Latin America during her first term in office, she has not used air travel since being elected in 2014. The economist was elected for a second term in May.
She said cutting back on flying was the “most important single thing we can do individually to protect our climate”.
A spokesman for Ms Scott Cato said she was was opposed to the expansion of all airports in the UK, including Bristol Airport, and has argued that measures to stem the growth in flying should be implemented instead.
“Most flights are taken by the wealthy – 70 per cent of flights are taken by just 15 per cent of the UK population, while on average UK residents only fly once every two years,” said the South West MEP.
“Rich people are taking the most flights and trashing the planet, but we will all pay the price.”
Her office said work-related visits to Latvia, Lisbon, Poland and Gibraltar were all made by a combination of “train, other overland travel and ferry”. She has pledged not to fly at all in 2020.
She added: “Once you’ve made the decision not to fly there’s a whole new world to explore. Life really can be better without flying. I want to challenge the idea that it’s normal to take short, frequent flights. It is not a normal part of most people’s lives.
“If we don’t change the way we live our children and grandchildren will not have any sort of life at all. That’s why it is really important to sign up to the flight-free 2020 pledge.”
The senior Green Party figure wants to see a frequent flyer levy established where those taking more than one flight a year “pay for the privilege”.
She is calling for aviation tax breaks to be scrapped and for an EU-wide tax on airplane fuel to be brought in.
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