Jeremy Hunt flew to Manchester from London rather than taking the train or a more sustainable form of transport, the Guardian can reveal.
Flying is the most carbon-intensive form of transport, and Hunt’s journey will have emitted around 40kg of carbon dioxide. These fossil fuels heat the planet and cause climate breakdown, such as fires and floods.
The chancellor flew on BA1372 in economy class from Heathrow airport, and the flight took 30 minutes. The train from London takes around two hours.
He is understood to have decided to fly because he had an important meeting with the Japanese ambassador on Sunday morning, and was also concerned about the rail strikes.
Sunak travelled to Manchester via by car, citing the train strikes.
Hunt has been criticised for his choice to take the high carbon transport option. Chris Venables, deputy director of politics at environmental thinktank Green Alliance, said: “For the chancellor to chose to fly, one of the most polluting forms of travel, on a journey that takes a couple of hours by train will rightly raise eyebrows, especially following the significant steps backwards this government has taken on the green agenda in recent weeks.
“Those worrying policy U-turns have made it even more urgent that the chancellor responds as soon as possible to the global green investment race being led by the US and China, as the UK falls slowly behind.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Jeremy Hunt appears to have picked up Rishi’s love of flying. They both know that Tory economic incompetence has put the rail network under such pressure that they can’t rely on a train to turn up on time.
“Luckily for them, multimillionaires can afford to fly, so, like so many of their mistakes, it’s for working people to live through and the super rich to just read about.”
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Paul Morozzo, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “The high-carbon travel habits of government ministers have led to doubts about their sincerity when talking about their commitment to protecting the environment. But this government, in rushing to put party before planet and people, is the first to make their environmental U-turns the main theme of their election campaign. It makes you wonder whether the chancellor’s flight is a PR gaffe or a sign of party loyalty.”
The prime minister has come under fire in the past for his private jet and helicopter habit. Though he says taking private aviation to travel short distances is a more efficient use of his time than using road or rail, many have pointed out the climate – and cost – impacts of his preferred travel methods.
Recent data from the Ministry of Justice showed that Rishi Sunak has used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights more frequently than the UK’s previous three prime ministers. The data revealed he took almost one such flight a week during his first seven months in office. Some trips included one by helicopter to Dover, which would have taken just over an hour by train, and another helicopter ride to Southampton, which would come in at one hour 14 minutes by rail.