The WWF UK has responded with concern to the Government’s decision to support a third runway at Heathrow. The expansion shows a lack of environmental credibility since the Government’s Climate Change Act became law last year.
Chief Executive of WWF UK, David Nussbaum, said –
‘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.’
The Expansion of Heathrow will make it difficult for the UK to meet its carbon targets, with every other sector of the economy now tightening its belt to allow the aviation sector to grow in this way.
The Government seem to be suggesting that because the aviation sector is covered by Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme, that there is no need to worry. But relying on our ability to buy our way out of our climate obligations is an expensive option if the cost of carbon rises to reflect the true damage it does to the planet.
