UK minister targets airlines over climate change

The UK environment minister has launched an outspoken attack on major airlines for refusing to take climate change seriously, calling Irish airline Ryanair "the irresponsible face of capitalism" and describing the attitude of major American airlines "a disgrace".
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Just before Christmas, the EU proposed including all flights within Europe in the carbon trading scheme from 2011.
But Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has vowed to boycott the scheme, dismissing the proposal as "just another tax", while the big American international operators are threatening lawsuits to prevent the inclusion of US flights in and out of Europe.
However, Pearson described Mr O’Leary’s attitude as "just completely off the wall. When it comes to climate change, Ryanair are not just the unacceptable face of capitalism, they are the irresponsible face of capitalism. O’Leary just seems to take pride in refusing to recognize that climate change is a genuine problem".

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