Boris Johnson has defended flying to Cornwall for the G7 summit at which he is expected to urge world leaders to take more action against climate change.
The prime minister spoke in Newquay having flown from London after PMQs on Wednesday.
A journey to the region would take around four hours by rail, a much greener form of transport, or around five hours by car.
I’ve arrived in Cornwall for this year’s @G7 where I’ll be asking my fellow leaders to rise to the challenge of beating the pandemic and building back better, fairer and greener.
It will be a busy and important Summit, and I can’t wait to get started.#G7UKpic.twitter.com/H4VSQ2SCD6
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 9, 2021
France has recently moved to ban short-haul internal flights where train alternatives exist in a bid to reduce carbon (CO2) emissions.
Around 2.4% of the world’s CO2 emissions come from aviation.
But Johnson defended his 250-mile plane journey as he arrived in Cornwall, where he is hoping to help pave the way for an ambitious climate deal at the key Cop26 summit in Glasgow later this year.
The PM told reporters: “If you attack my arrival by plane.
“I respectfully point out that the UK is actually in the lead in developing sustainable aviation fuel and one of the points in the 10-point plan for our green industrial revolution is to get to jet zero as well as net zero.”
Johnson will meet US president Joe Biden for their first face-to-face talks on Thursday before the summit begins on Friday.
