This morning, campaigners gathered outside the Leeds office of the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to protest against plans to expand Heathrow and other airports.
They called on the government to accept the recommendations of its expert advisers, the Climate Change Committee, and prevent the expansion of UK airports until there’s a large scale solution to aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions problem.
Nick Hodgkinson, Chair of the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), said: “It’s deeply disappointing to hear the Chancellor announce her support for Heathrow expansion. This flies in the face of repeated advice from the government’s own advisers not to allow airports to grow at this time. Why have experts and then ignore them?”
“The aviation industry claims that ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel will soon solve its greenhouse gas problem but all the independent experts disagree. They warn that it’s simply not possible to make enough alternative fuel to cut emissions from flying at the speed we need to reach net zero.”
He added: “One day, it may be possible to fly without polluting the environment. But that day is a long way off and we need to cut all greenhouse gases now. Everyone has seen the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and the floods in England this year – that’s the reality of climate change.”
”We can leave a better world to our children and grandchildren but we must make the right decisions today. That’s why GALBA is challenging the government’s Jet Zero Strategy in the High Court in April.”
A recent report by the Institute of Actuaries revealed the threat that climate change poses to the global economy. The report warned that without urgent action to cut greenhouse gases, the world’s economy will be cut in half from 2070.
Sandy Trust, author of the Institute of Actuaries report, has said: “You can’t have an economy without a society, and a society needs somewhere to live. Nature is our foundation, providing… the raw materials and energy that power our economy. Threats to the stability of this foundation are risks to future human prosperity which we must take action to avoid.”
Ian Coatman, GALBA’s Secretary, said: “The claims made about airport expansion being good for the economy are overstated. Flights for business purposes fell by nearly a third between 2019 and 2023, with 3.9 million fewer business trips made. And yet the economy grew by 1.8% over the same period.”
“Heathrow hasn’t even made an application to expand. If it does, it will be several years before any expansion would come to reality. I know the government is investing in renewable energy, like wind farms, and that is good news. Surely it’s better to do more of that than cause more climate pollution by letting airports expand? It’s a lot quicker to create good jobs in renewable energy than by building a new runway.”
Recent research by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has seriously questioned the alleged link between airport growth and economic growth. UK businesses spent £2.9 billion less (down 22%) on air travel in 2023 compared with 2019, while the UK’s GDP actually rose. Dr Alex Chapman, senior researcher at NEF, also warns that the ‘carbon debt’ of the aviation sector will squeeze other sectors, forcing faster and more costly decarbonisation in the rest of the economy.
NOTES
Jet Zero Strategy legal challenge: following two rounds of consultation, the Jet Zero Strategy was launched in July 2022. A copy is available here. GALBA has made a judicial review challenge against the strategy because it fails to address the need to limit aviation growth. The case will be heard on 1-4 April in the High Court in London.
Institute of Actuaries: the report, Planetary Solvency, is available here and the quote from the report’s lead author is available here.
ONS data on fall in business flying: details of the data and its significance are available on the NEF website.
NEF assessment of Heathrow expansion: a briefing paper is available here.
GALBA: is a group of concerned citizens from across West Yorkshire who successfully campaigned against a planning application by Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) to expand by three million passengers a year.