{"id":116166,"date":"2021-06-09T22:22:02","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T22:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=116166"},"modified":"2021-06-09T22:22:02","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T22:22:02","slug":"g7-summit-boris-johnson-defends-taking-private-plane-to-cornwall-as-climate-change-set-to-be-high-on-the-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/g7-summit-boris-johnson-defends-taking-private-plane-to-cornwall-as-climate-change-set-to-be-high-on-the-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"G7 summit: Boris Johnson defends taking private plane to Cornwall – as climate change set to be high on the agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
The prime minister has been criticised for travelling to the G7 summit in Cornwall by plane, instead of taking the train.<\/p>\n
Boris Johnson<\/strong> arrived in Cornwall for the gathering of some of the world’s most developed economies, with climate change set to be high on the agenda.<\/p>\n A picture of the PM stepping off on a jet was posted on his Twitter account, alongside the caption: “I’ve arrived in Cornwall for this year’s @G7<\/strong> where I’ll be asking my fellow leaders to rise to the challenge of beating the pandemic and building back better, fairer and greener.<\/p>\n “It will be a busy and important Summit, and I can’t wait to get started.”<\/p>\n Labour’s shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard labelled the move “plane stupid”.<\/p>\n “There’s no train line from Cornwall to Washington or Tokyo but there is to London. The prime minister should have taken the train, not got a plane,” he said.<\/p>\n Asked about his decision to fly into the summit, Mr Johnson said: “If you attack my arrival by plane, I respectfully point out that the UK is actually in the lead in developing sustainable aviation fuel.<\/p>\n “One of the points in the 10-point plan of our green industrial revolution is to get to jet zero as well as net zero.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other world leaders arrived in Cornwall on Wednesday, with Joe Biden landing<\/strong> at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Air Force One.<\/p>\n Rather than using making the train journey from Paddington to London, Mr Johnson took the 250 miles (400km) trip From Stansted airport to Newquay in Cornwall.<\/p>\n Taking a plane creates almost five times more greenhouse gas emissions than the equivalent train journey, according to the government’s own emission figures.<\/p>\n Listen and follow ClimateCast on <\/strong>Spotify<\/strong>, <\/strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong>, or <\/strong>Spreaker<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the key policy priorities of this year’s summit is to “create a greener, more prosperous future”.<\/p>\n The summit’s website adds: “We will protect the future of our planet by moving to net zero and providing financial support for developing countries to do the same.”<\/p>\n In November, Glasgow will host COP26, where parties are expected to commit to enhanced ambitions.<\/p>\n