Sunak says govt on track to cut carbon emissions despite cuts to domestic air passenger duty

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his decision to cut duty on domestic flights in yesterday’s Budget, after being accused of contradicting the government’s climate messaging ahead of COP26.

Sunak told BBC Breakfast: “What we’re doing here is returning to a system we used to have before we had to get rid of it, which was not paying air passenger duty on both of the legs of a journey that you took within the United Kingdom,” adding that while environmental goals were important, “we’re doing this to support domestic aviation”.

He added that: “Actually, yesterday the independent watchdog said that our plans in the round will reduce carbon emissions and move us further along the path to net zero.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that Labour would not have made the same cut, explaining: “I find it astonishing that, the week before Cop26, where we are supposed to be showing global leadership, we have cut air passenger duty on domestic flights.”