Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson has said that aviation is a dirty business and that airlines should be willing to pay for the damage they cause to the environment.

He said, "If you run a dirty business — an airline business, a shipping business...coal business, you should pay for the privilege because you are doing damage."

Last week low-cost airlines called on the EU to reject a plan that would force air carriers to trade pollution allowances, saying it risks turning potential environmental benefits into punitive fees for air carriers andpassengers.

The two-day meeting of the new humanitarian forum brings together aid agencies, governments and the private sector to address the "human face of climate change."
 
Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom suggested the proceeds of aviation taxes on carbon emissions be transferred to small nations to put in place measures for adapting to climate change.  THE END.