Adding a £30 carbon tax is not a make or break amount for a tourist who already pays £1000 for their long-haul flight, and that £30 could go towards developing climate solutions
-Annela Anger
The study, prepared for the climate policy organisation Climate Strategies, concluded that market-based measures (MBMs) could be a key part of an overall emissions reduction strategy, while reducing GDP by less than 0.01 per cent on average.
Researchers from Cambridge University, CE Delft, Cambridge Econometrics, TAKS (Transport Analysis and Knowledge Systems) and Climate Strategies quantified the economic impacts of MBMs in shipping and aviation for ten selected countries, and determined the most effective and efficient tools to reduce these impacts.
The team found that economic effects were more pronounced in countries whose economies were heavily reliant upon tourism and trade by sea and air. Many of these countries have been resistant to mandatory MBMs for the aviation and maritime industries, as they will inevitably raise the cost of transport. However, the researchers also looked into ways of minimising the economic effects of MBMs on the often-volatile tourism industry, such as exemptions for certain routes, lump sum rebates, investments in infrastructure efficiency and the development of more efficient ships and aircraft.
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Image: Vapour trail
Credit: Richard Ashley via Flickr
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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