Jet-setting MP's freebie flights pump out 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide
November 25, 2006 4:30 PM
Mark Field probably didn't fly easyJet
An estimated 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide has been added to the atmosphere over the past four years by Cities of London and Westminster MP Mark Field as he travelled the globe on trips paid for by others, according to an analysis of his entries on the register of MPs' interests.
Since his election to the Commons in 2001, Mr Field has made a series of 14 different trips to the Continent, the Middle East, South Asia, Scandinavia, the Far East and eastern Europe. All these trips were paid for by someone else, mostly foreign governments, the register reveals.
Using an online calculator at climatecare.org, local Liberal Democrats estimate that Mr Field has added to climate change by putting around an extra 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Local Liberal Democrat Stuart Bonar said:
"Most of us have reason to fly from time to time, and MPs need to know about the world, but Mr Field is clocking up the air miles at quite a rate. And remember that this is not a comprehensive list of all the MP's globe-trotting, but just those trips paid for by someone else.
"And I am not just all talk on this. I pay out of my own pocket to offset 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, which is each British person's portion of the UK 's annual emissions. Put simply, 'offsetting' means paying for activities that reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that balance out one's own carbon emissions. Examples include replacing polluting energy production with renewable sources or planting new forests.
"What is more, every person attending the Liberal Democrat conference every autumn pays a small supplement which allows the party to offset the extra carbon emissions created by the annual conference."
"I would like to hear Mr Field confirm that he offsets his carbon emissions, or undertake to accept fewer of these freebie flights."
The destinations visited on free trips by the Conservative MP were Germany (three times), Syria, India (twice), Israel, Qatar, Norway, China, and separately to Hong Kong, Jordan, Romania, and a joint trip to Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Those governments that paid for Mark Field MP's travels included dictatorships such as China and Syria.
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