Jet Zero | GALBA

WE’RE TAKING THE GOVERNMENT TO COURT TO…

STOP more planes
STOP bigger airports
STOP climate breakdown

PLEASE HELP FUND OUR LEGAL FIGHT BY DONATING TO ONE OF OUR TWO CROWDFUNDERS – JUSTGIVING OR CROWDJUSTICE

Unbelievably, the government’s Jet Zero aviation strategy has given the green light to a huge expansion of flying and airports. Instead of stopping any expansion of aviation, the Jet Zero plan will actually encourage more flights and bigger airports, which means even more noise, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

BUT WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET THE GOVERNMENT GET AWAY WITH IT - WE’RE TAKING OUT A JUDICIAL REVIEW AGAINST THE JET ZERO STRATEGY.

We want the government to rethink its strategy and instead focus on immediate reductions in greenhouse gases while we still have a chance of avoiding complete climate breakdown.

If we win, we will have radically changed the landscape in which all airport expansion decisions are made. Our victory would help campaigners across the UK and give them real power to fight the expansion of the aviation industry.

We have a brilliant legal team lined up, including a QC and solicitors with huge experience in this area. They have agreed to work for very reduced rates but there is still an enormous amount of legal work that needs to go into making such a claim successful.

We urgently need funds to make sure our team is ready for the David and Goliath fight that lies ahead of us.

PLEASE WILL YOU HELP US WIN OUR FIGHT?

ALL CONTRIBUTIONS BIG OR SMALL WILL HELP.

PLEASE DONATE TO JUSTGIVING OR CROWDJUSTICE

The crowdfunding platforms will take some of the amount as fees. They may ask for a donation towards their own costs – please note you are under no obligation to make this additional donation and you can manually remove it.

If you would prefer to put funds directly into our account please use the following details:

Account name: Jet Zero JR GALBA
Account number: 2046 5612
Sort code: 60-83-01

LBA EXPANSION, NIGHT FLIGHTS AND JET ZERO - WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

LBA flew more than 600 night flights than allowed under the existing planning conditions from LBA in summer 2022. We’re waiting for the outcome of Leeds City Council’s investigation into our complaint. But national aviation policy is another threat of increased night time flying from a future planning application by LBA. National policy expressly supports airport expansions and national policy has a strong influence on decisions by local planning authorities, like Leeds City Council.

Jet Zero: the Jet Zero strategy is national policy. It rejects recommendations from the government’s advisers to introduce measures to control demand for flying. In particular it rejects any national policy constraint on airport expansions. So it is clear that national policy supports airport expansions.

LBA expansion and increased night flights: LBA’s Australian owners have made it equally clear they want the airport to expand - it’s a core part of their business model and in their 2030 strategic plan. So if GALBA’s complaint results in a strict enforcement of the current limit on the number flights allowed at night, it is unlikely that LBA will simply abandon its expansion plans. But how could the airport expand?

There are no restrictions on the number of flights permitted in the day but they cannot build a second runway to increase day time flying because there isn’t space. So their only option is to try to change the night time flying rules - again. They requested these changes in their now withdrawn 2020 planning application. So LBA would have to make a new planning application to change the rules.

National policy is important when local planning authorities decide whether to allow planning applications. So LBA would point to Jet Zero and say: ‘National policy supports airport expansions’ and that would carry weight with the planning committee. Obviously, GALBA would argue strongly against the application but it could be hard to win.

That’s why we’re challenging Jet Zero in the High Court: we are asking the judge to send Jet Zero back to the Dept for Transport to be re-written so that it includes a presumption against airport expansion. We have good lawyers with a record of success in environmental litigation and just need to raise the cut price funds.

MORE ABOUT JET ZERO

In July 2022 the government published its so-called ‘Jet Zero’ strategy. It claims that it will make sure that the UK aviation industry reaches ‘Net Zero’ by 2050. But instead of cutting emissions as fast and dramatically as possible in this time of climate crisis, Jet Zero allows them to grow without constraint.

The government makes the absurd claim that the increased emissions would be reduced through the introduction of new technology. But it’s a fantasy – this technology is unproven or non-existent and simply cannot be developed and implemented for decades, by which time it will be too late for the planet and its people.

Jet Zero needs a fundamental re-think and that’s why we’re taking the government to court. We believe the government has failed in its duty to produce a meaningful, quantified and realistic strategy to cut aviation emissions to Net Zero by 2050. Jet Zero needs to be re-written so that it takes real climate action.

KEY FAILURES OF JET ZERO

It ignores repeated advice from the government’s own expert climate advisers (the Climate Change Committee) that demand for flying needs to be limited as soon as possible and that there should be no further net expansion of the UK’s airports.
It relies on new technologies such as electric and hydrogen powered planes and new jet fuels to cut emissions. But climate experts warn these techno-solutions either don’t yet exist or cannot realistically be scaled up in time to stop aviation emissions by 2050.
It ignores the non-CO2 emissions caused by flying, even though the latest scientific research shows that aviation’s non-CO2 emissions do more than twice as much damage to the climate as its CO2 emissions.
It allows emissions from flying to increase into the 2040s, disregarding repeated advice from the world’s scientists that we must cut all emissions in half by 2030 to prevent catastrophic levels of global heating.

FAQs

What will the money be spent on? We will have expert legal advocacy from a QC and solicitors with huge experience and a track record of success in planning and environmental law. But this comes at a cost even though our team are working at reduced rates. We urgently need the funds in order to match the powerful government machine that will swing into action to defend the aviation industry and its profits. Please note that none of the volunteers involved in this campaign will be paid. All monies raised will go to legal fees and other incidental expenses.

What if I’ve donated to GALBA before? Thank you for supporting our successful campaign against LBA’s expansion planning application. We’re keeping that money safe because we know we’ll have to fight LBA again at some point. But if we can stop Jet Zero, that would be a huge help in stopping any future expansion by LBA or any other airport.

What is a judicial review? A judicial review is an application to a High Court judge to review the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body, in this case the government. Climate activists have recently had a huge success in challenging the government’s overall net-zero plan at judicial review and this shows that such challenges can really make a difference.

What if the fundraiser raises more money than is needed for the judicial review? If we raise more money than we need, we will ensure that any extra funds are spent on fighting the expansion of airports or increasing flights in the UK.

Who is making the judicial review challenge? The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport. GALBA is a group of citizens from West Yorkshire and beyond determined to stop our local airport from expanding. We are part of a national network of campaigns, all fighting to protect their communities and everyone’s climate. Our national campaign against aviation expansion is one of the most important and dynamic parts of the climate movement – and we will win!

Your donation will help us stand up to the aviation industry.

SAY NO TO MORE PLANES

SAY NO TO BIGGER AIRPORTS

SAY YES TO A CLEANER, GREENER FUTURE