IMechE proposes transport tickets be branded with carbon footprint

Tue 04 March 2008 View all news

Tickets for travelling on planes, trains and buses should have information about the carbon impacts of the journeys being made, according to a report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). The Institute says that branding tickets to provide carbon footprint information could help to make a carbon-excessive lifestyle "as socially unacceptable as drink-driving".

The IMechE says that the Government’s drink-driving campaigns have made it unacceptable to drink and drive amongst 72% of drivers and a campaign on a similaraly large scale is needed to heighten awareness of climate change.

Cliff Perry, an IMechE’s spokesman said "Our journey choices today are dictated by convenience and cost. Air travel is seen as an attractive option partly because of cheap tickets and perceived quicker travel times. The carbon footprint of such journeys, however, from door to door is often 10-15 times greater than the equivalent rail trip. One return air journey, London to Paris generates the same CO2 as 11 return journeys by rail....Clear marking of tickets with accurate emission figures is a simple way to raise awareness of environmental costs, along with measures that do the same for road journeys.”

With over a quarter of the UK's emissions coming from transport, and 85 percent of that from road traffic, the body recommended train transport as the least polluting in its report on sustainable transport.

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