Greenwash: (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the actions of a company, government, or other organization which advertises positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way (thank you, Wikipedia).

In the draft for the proposed Climate Change Bill, which was published back in March this year, the UK government revealed a long-term goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050. That's an ambitious target - nearly 10 times what has been achieved so far - and actually pretty commendable. If the bill is approved, the UK will become the first country in the world to set such a long-range and significant carbon reduction target into law.

However, the credibility of the proposed law is undermined by the fact these targets exclude aviation and shipping. UK aviation - specifically the ridiculously cheap flights offered by no-frills operators like Ryanair and EasyJet - is a sector that's enjoyed huge and more or less unchecked expansion over the last few years, and the Department for Transport estimates that its carbon dioxide emissions will more than double between 2000 and 2050. So how can a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions during that period possibly be achieved?

The answer is - you shift the emissions problem elsewhere.

As the law is currently drafted, Britain will be allowed to meet its targets by buying carbon credits overseas, notably in developing countries. About 70% of Britain's emission savings between 2008 and 2012 will be made by buying overseas credits. Theoretically, all the proposed savings could be made that way, and then we wouldn't have to bother ourselves about the environmental consequences of cheap air travel.

Seems to me that the purchase of carbon credits from overseas is simply postponing Britain having to do something directly about curbing its own carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions trading does little to solve pollution problems overall, it just shifts the problems elsewhere.

In the meantime, for my Autumn break I can either travel to London by train for £177, or fly to Amsterdam for £22... crazy?