British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stirred controversy after it emerged that the cost of traveling by helicopter to his constituency, North Yorkshire, amounts to some £16,000 (almost €18,000) since he took office in October 2022.
Sunak’s private trips from London have taken place throughout November and December. Although they have been paid for with private funds, many have warned of the carbon footprint of this type of travel, according to information from the newspaper ‘The Guardian’.
Thus, these data have called into question the Government’s real commitment to the fight against climate change. Downing Street, on the other hand, defends the use of the helicopter and affirms that the trips have been paid for by Sunak himself as long as the trip is not for business reasons.
Northallerton, a town near Sunak’s home in North Yorkshire, is connected to London directly by rail from Kings Cross. Some 30 trains run daily on this route, which takes just over two hours.
The prime minister has previously been criticized for using private jets paid for with public money to visit various parts of the country, including three flights in just ten days.
The government has previously defended these trips on the grounds that the British premier should manage his time as he sees fit. However, the Government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving a target of zero net emissions by 2050. Its plan includes precisely reducing emissions from the domestic aviation market with a so-called ‘zero jet’ program that aims to reduce these emissions by 7 percent.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
