Environmentalists savaged British Prime Minister Tony Blair over his refusal to give up long-haul holiday flights in the interests of saving the planet on January 9.

"I would frankly be reluctant to give up my holidays abroad," Blair told Sky News when asked if he would stop flying to Barbados as a contribution to the environment.

Blair, who has championed international action to counter climate change, said individuals could make a difference on global warming but what mattered was an international agreement.

People could be turned off the green agenda if they were asked to make sacrifices such as giving up cheap air travel, he said. He also put faith in technological solutions to make air travel more energy efficient.

"Tony Blair is crossing his fingers and hoping someone will invent aeroplanes that don't cause climate change, but that's like holding out for cigarettes that don't cause cancer," Greenpeace campaigner Emily Armistead said in a statement.

"The prime minister should be halting airport expansion and getting people back onto the railways. He's finally forfeited any claim to be a world leader on climate change."

Environmentalists say aviation is Britain's fastest growing source of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming.

"It's disappointing that Tony Blair is refusing to set an example on tackling climate change, but it is even more disappointing that his government is failing to take decisive action to cut UK emissions," Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns Mike Childs said.

Blair, set to step down this year after a decade in power, appears at odds with environment minister Ian Pearson. He was quoted last week as calling Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, "the irresponsible face of capitalism" over its stance on climate change. Ryanair rejected the charge.

Blair said it was a "bit impractical" to expect people to give up overseas trips for a holiday closer to home.

Blair's expected successor as prime minister, finance minister Gordon Brown, last month announced a doubling of taxes on air fares but the government also gave the green light to a major expansion of the country's booming airports.