On 5/4/08 Gordon Brown look-a-likes gathered outside the Town House in Kirkcaldy. They deliberately covered their eyes to ignore the aeroplanes, hoping the aviation emissions will just go away. Climate campaigners held placards and banners asking their local MP to include aviation emissions in the Climate Change Bill.

The stunt was organised as part of a national day of action in support of The Big Ask, Friends of the Earth's campaign for a strong Climate Change law. Concerned Fifers converged on the Town House in an attempt to get the message across to their local MP, who also happens to be Prime Minister. The group has been campaigning on the issue for months and has collected over 150 postcards for Mr Brown demonstrating his constituents' desire for a stronger Climate Change law.

Friends of the Earth has lead the campaign for a strong Climate Change Law through The Big Ask campaign. The Law, which is set to be introduced this summer, is ground-breaking but it needs strengthening if we want the UK to play its part in tackling climate change.

Friends of the Earth Fife said:

"It's crazy for Gordon Brown to leave out climate changing emissions from planes and ships from the new Climate Change Law, but that's what he's doing. Why should our local industry and businesses be held to account for their carbon emissions but not the aviation industry? We've collected over one hundred and fifty postcards for Mr Brown but he has been unable to meet us to accept them. Supporters of the campaign felt we needed to take action to get our MP's attention. Not including aviation emissions in the bill is like banning drink driving but making vodka drinkers exempt!"

Friends of the Earth and other charities believe it is ludicrous to pretend these emissions don't exist, and unfair to treat aviation and shipping any differently to other sectors of the economy. The Government already publishes figures on aviation and shipping emissions and there is no practical reason why they cannot be included in the Act from the outset. They are already published on a government sponsored website www.naei.org.uk/reports.php navigate to report AEAT/ENV/R/2429 and download the annexes. Tables A 9.1.1 to A 9.1.16 list aviation emissions from 1990 to 2005, under the heading of "International bunkers").

Aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions. Government figures published in January 2008 showed aviation accounts for 6.4 per cent of UK carbon emissions (www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics). The impact of aviation emissions is double that of carbon dioxide because of other gases that planes pump out at altitude (Royal Commission on Environmental Polution, 2002. The Environmental Effects of Civil Aircraft in Flight – www.rcep.org.uk/aviaiton.html).