WWF challenges Heathrow expansion plan
15 January 2009
David Nussbaum, WWF's Chief Executive, explains why we oppose the government’s go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow.
"Heathrow's expansion plan was the first big test of the government's environmental credibility since the Climate Change Act became law last year. It has failed spectacularly and by choosing to support a third runway, the government has torpedoed its own flagship policy.
"In order to set the UK on to a low-carbon trajectory in the decades to come, the government should be supporting green alternatives such as rail travel or the use of video conferencing to reduce business travel. But while high-speed rail is clearly an attractive alternative to flying, rail is only green if it replaces air and road journeys. Having a new hub that simply feeds passengers into a new runway would be a double blow for the environment.
"Expanding airports will make it incredibly difficult and expensive for the UK to meet its carbon targets. Every other sector of the economy, from manufacturing to home heating to cars, will have to tighten its belt to allow the aviation sector to grow in this way. The Committee on Climate Change has already indicated that if aviation fails to reduce its emissions the rest of the economy will need a 90% cut instead of an 80% reduction to compensate for it, so we will all end up paying if a third runway is built.
"The government has also suggested that because the aviation sector is covered by Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme, we need not be overly concerned. But if, as Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband recently stated, we shouldn't rely solely on carbon markets to ensure a low-carbon energy sector, why should we do so for the aviation industry? At the moment we are heading for 'Offset Britain', relying on a misplaced belief that we can forever buy our way out of our climate obligations - an increasingly expensive option if the cost of carbon rises to reflect the true damage it does to the planet."
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