January 3, 2008 8:00

Radiohead defend their carbon footprint to fans Radiohead Tickets

Thom Yorke: 'Can we go around by ship?'

Photo Gallery: Radiohead

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has delved into the global warming debate yet again, defending the band's plans to tour this year.

Speaking about their aims to keep the tour as carbon-friendly as possible, the singer admitted the task will not be an easy one.

Talking this morning (January 2) on Radio 4's Today programme, the singer explained that the band "had one of those carbon footprints done and there’s a few things we can change".

He said that the biggest environmental issue was not the band's output, but fans travelling to their shows.

"I guess it’s obvious – it’s the mass of people travelling to one place," he said of the biggest factor in Radiohead's carbon footprint. "That’s the really big impact overall."

Yorke said that the band would be addressing their carbon output though.

"Can we go around by ship?" he wondered. "Yes, technically speaking, if we were in the freight containers and were prepared to be on the sea for two weeks, that would be more ecologically sound. But if you were to go on the Queen Mary for example, that’s actually worse because they go so fast because they’re so heavy."

Yorke concluded that his band would have to go back to basics to tackle their emissions.

"It is quite extraordinary, the rock 'n' roll business," he explained, "at this stage the normal protocol would be to fly in/fly out every night, so to choose to bumble about on a bus is going to be interesting."