The following is an open letter to LCC councillors, written by GALBA & supported by various groups.
Dear Councillor
In a few days, 13 Leeds councillors will make a decision that will affect the lives of the people of West Yorkshire for generations. These 13 people make up the committee that will say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Leeds Bradford Airport’s planning application – designed to increase passengers from 4 million a year to 7 million by 2030.
Expansion would mean health damaging increases in noise, traffic and air pollution for thousands of people in our local communities. Above all, it would mean a huge increase in greenhouse gas emissions exactly when we need to cut them to prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis. Expansion would be fundamentally wrong. Leeds City Council has declared a Climate Emergency and aims to reach net zero carbon by 2030. Yet from 2030 onwards, aircraft from an expanded airport would pump out more greenhouse gases than the whole of the rest of the city. Allowing LBA to expand would immediately make the Council’s own net zero target impossible.
The Covid crisis has exposed how vulnerable we are as individuals and as a society. The climate crisis will be far worse – unless we make the right decisions now. Rebuilding the local economy matters to us all and we can rebuild a healthy economy with good, sustainable jobs. We can decide not to return to ‘business as usual’. A better, safer and greener future is possible. Leeds City Council can keep its promise to tackle the climate emergency. 13 Leeds councillors can stop the airport doubling its emissions.
We, the undersigned, implore those 13 councillors to follow the example set at Stansted and Bristol airports and reject LBA’s planning application. We call on them to use their legal powers to make the right decision for the future – for the good of our children, grandchildren and future generations.
Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport, supported by:
(Politicians and political parties)
1. Hilary Benn MP (Lab) 2. Alex Sobel MP (Lab) 3. Richard Burgon MP (Lab) 4. Fabian Hamilton MP (Lab) 5. Imran Hussain MP (Lab) 6. Elizabeth Minkin, Honorary Alderman and Hon FRIBA 7. Councillor John Pennington (Con)
8. Councillor Jonathan Bentley (LD) 9. Councillor Chris Howley (LD) 10. Councillor Scott Patient (Lab) 11. Councillor Vick Jenkins (Lab) 12. Councillor Beverley Mullaney (Lab) 13. Councillor Sue Duffy (Lab) 14. Councillor Richard Dunbar (Lab) 15. Leeds Central Constituency Labour Party 16. Leeds North East Constituency Labour Party 17. Leeds West Constituency Labour Party 18. Pudsey Constituency Labour Party 19. Shipley Constituency Labour Party 20. Wakefield Council Labour Group 21. Headingley & Hyde Park Branch Labour Party 22. Weetwood Branch Labour Party 23. Thornton, Allerton and Sandy Lane Branch Labour Party 24. Leeds Green Party 25. Headingley Green Party 26. Otley & Yeadon Green Party 27. Bradford District Green Party 28. Keighley and Ilkley Green Party 29. Yorkshire & Humber Regional Green Party 30. Colne Valley Green Party 31. Huddersfield Green Party 32. Councillor Ann Forsaith (Green) 33. Councillor Kevin Warnes (Green)
34. Councillor Martin Love (Green) 35. Councillor Andrew Cooper (Green) 36. Councillor Karen Allison (Green) 37. Councillor Susan Lee-Richards (Green) 38. Councillor Richard Murgatroyd (Ind) 39. Leeds Socialist Workers Party
(Town councils)
40. Horsforth Town Council 41. Shipley Town Council 42. Bingley Town Council
(Environmental and climate organisations)
43. West Yorkshire Council for the Protection of Rural England 44. Christian Climate Action Leeds 45. Our Future Leeds 46. Roundhay Environmental Action Project 47. Climate Action Ilkley 48. Climate Action Menston 49. Leeds YouthStrike4Climate 50. Healthy Air Leeds 51. Clean Air Bradford 52. Greenpeace Leeds 53. Zero Carbon Headingley 54. Zero Carbon Yorkshire 55. Just Transition Wakefield 56. Leeds Green New Deal 57. Bradford Green New Deal
58. Leeds Friends of the Earth 59. Baildon & Shipley Friends of the Earth 60. Huddersfield Friends of the Earth 61. Wakefield Friends of the Earth 62. Calderdale Friends of the Earth 63. Conservation volunteers, Leeds University 64. People and Planet Leeds 65. Leeds Coalition for the Climate 66. Fossil Free West Yorkshire 67. Grandparents for Youth Strike 4 Climate 68. Extinction Rebellion Leeds 69. Extinction Rebellion Halifax 70. Extinction Rebellion Calderdale 71. Extinction Rebellion Bradford
(Residents Associations)
72. Little Woodhouse Community Association 73. West Park Residents Association 74. Weetwood Residents Association 75. Far Headingley Village Society 76. Drummond and Churchwood Residents Association 77. Beckett Park Residents Association 78. North Hyde Park Neighbourhood Association 79. Ash Road Area Residents Association 80. Westway Residents Group 81. South Headingley Community Association 82. The Turnways and Laurel Bank Residents Association
83. Clarion Field Residents Association 84. Cardigan Triangle Residents 85. North West Leeds Transport Forum
(Other organisations)
86. Leeds TUC 87. Gateway Church Leeds 88. Friends of Woodhouse Moor 89. Friends of Beckett Park 90. A660 Joint Council 91. Action for Yorkshire Transport 92. Global Justice Now Bradford 93. Scientists for Global Responsibility 94. AdBlock Leeds
(Climate and meteorological scientists)
95. Professor Stephen Mobbs MBE, Director of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds 96. Professor John Marsham, Joint Chair of the UK Met Office, University of Leeds 97. Professor Julia K. Steinberger, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Professor of Ecological Economics, University of Lausanne 98. Professor Paul Chatterton, Urban Futures, School of Geography, University of Leeds 99. Professor Andrew Shepherd - Earth Observation and Modelling, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 100. Professor Douglas Parker - Meteorology, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 101. Dr Cat Scott - University Academic Fellow, Land-Use Change for Climate Change mitigation, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
102. Dr Cathryn Birch - Associate Professor in Meteorology and Climate, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 103. Dr Ann-Kristin Koehler - Research Fellow in Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 104. Dr Sarah Dennis - Manager of UK-China Observatory Project, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
105. Dr Jennifer Fletcher - Senior Research Scientist, Atmospheric Dynamics, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 106. Dr Chris Smith - Research Fellow, Climate Forcing, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 107. Dr Sarah Chapman, Research Fellow, East Africa, tropical climate, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 108. Dr Carly Reddington - Atmospheric Aerosol and Air Pollution expert, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 109. Dr Leif Denby - Fellow of computational fluid dynamics of the atmosphere, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 110. Dr Sam Hardy - Postdoctoral Tropical Cyclone Researcher, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 111. Dr Bethan White - Lecturer in Meteorology - Monash University, Melbourne 112. Mr Jefim Vogel, PhD candidate in Ecological Economics, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
113. Mr Amethyst Johnson - PhD candidate in Meteorology, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds 114. Dr Victoria Smith, Atmospheric Sciences