TRANSPORT Secretary Ruth Kelly defied environmentalists today by warning that she would not order cuts in Britain's airline industry.

Ms Kelly said she would never "ration" air or car travel and said personal choice should come before green dogma.

Speaking to the Evening Standard ahead of the publication of transport strategy plans today, she said the Government did want to put carbon costs at the heart of future decisions on airports, roads and railways.

But she stressed that the best way to help the planet was through off-setting a rise in aviation emissions by cutting CO2 elsewhere. Ms Kelly said technological changes and incentives to make aircraft greener, as well as better information for passengers on the most eco-friendly travel, was a better solution than opposing airline use.

Although she did not refer directly to plans to expand Heathrow and Stansted, she said she was strongly opposed to "arbitrary targets to curb airline growth".

She warned that the Government would not copy the Tories in threatening to ration air or car travel and made a staunch defence of the jobs and economic growth aviation brings.

"I don't think we should be rationing travel. I start from the position that we should respect people's choices but give them better information," she said.

The Transport Secretary said that the best option was to include aviation in the EU's emissions trading scheme so that every tonne of CO2 produced by air travel had to be matched by a cut in it in other parts of the economy.

Ms Kelly said she wanted to incentivise change by offering new slots at expanded airports to greener aircraft.

Other ideas announced today include:

Giving the Civil Aviation Authority a statutory duty to protect the environment.

Reforming National Air Traffic Services rules to curb "stacking" and taxi-ing on runways.

Backing green cars with 30 per cent better fuel efficiency.

A possible high-speed rail link or wider motorway between London and Birmingham.

Ms Kelly signalled she was still interested in "exploring the potential" of road pricing but stressed she favoured a "balanced" approach.

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