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| Airport expansion’s disastrous effects, near and far | Airport expansion’s disastrous effects, near and far |
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| The government’s decision to greenlight aviation expansion (Chris Grayling: decision on airport expansion to be made on Tuesday, theguardian.com, 23 October) is a predictable failure, but not an acceptable one. With the scrapping of vital decarbonisation policies and funding, the UK is already way off-track to meet our climate change commitments. The impacts of any new runway will be devastating to people’s lives and to the planet. Locally it will see the demolition of hundreds of homes, result in increased noise pollution, and illegal levels of air pollution – already responsible for almost 10,000 premature deaths in London every year. | The government’s decision to greenlight aviation expansion (Chris Grayling: decision on airport expansion to be made on Tuesday, theguardian.com, 23 October) is a predictable failure, but not an acceptable one. With the scrapping of vital decarbonisation policies and funding, the UK is already way off-track to meet our climate change commitments. The impacts of any new runway will be devastating to people’s lives and to the planet. Locally it will see the demolition of hundreds of homes, result in increased noise pollution, and illegal levels of air pollution – already responsible for almost 10,000 premature deaths in London every year. |
| But the biggest tragedy of the government’s failure is a global one. Only around 5% of the world’s population flies at all, yet the impacts of climate change – droughts, floods and heatwaves – are already hitting poorer communities in the global south, who are the least likely to ever set foot on a plane. | But the biggest tragedy of the government’s failure is a global one. Only around 5% of the world’s population flies at all, yet the impacts of climate change – droughts, floods and heatwaves – are already hitting poorer communities in the global south, who are the least likely to ever set foot on a plane. |
| The push for more runway space is not about demand from business – that has been dropping for over a decade. Nor is it about people taking one or two annual holidays. Growth is being driven by the frequent leisure flyers taking weekend breaks and shopping trips by plane. Half of the UK population don’t fly in any given year, yet all of us subsidise the holidays of the rich. | The push for more runway space is not about demand from business – that has been dropping for over a decade. Nor is it about people taking one or two annual holidays. Growth is being driven by the frequent leisure flyers taking weekend breaks and shopping trips by plane. Half of the UK population don’t fly in any given year, yet all of us subsidise the holidays of the rich. |
| The UK must not abandon our commitments under the Paris agreement and the Climate Change Act for the convenience of binge flyers. We will not allow our government to ignore the promises they have made to us and to the world. | The UK must not abandon our commitments under the Paris agreement and the Climate Change Act for the convenience of binge flyers. We will not allow our government to ignore the promises they have made to us and to the world. |
| Craig Bennett CEO, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Nicky Bull Chair, Operation Noah, Amy Cameron Director, 10:10, Sarah Clayton Coordinator, AirportWatch, Peter Deane Biofuelwatch, Bill Hemmings Director, aviation and shipping, European Federation for Transport and Environment, Claire James Campaigns coordinator, Campaign Against Climate Change, Rosalie James Chair, Aircraft Noise 3 Villages (Lightwater, Windlesham & Bagshot), Tim Johnson Director, Aviation Environment Federation, James MacColl Head of campaigns, Campaign for Better Transport, Kara Moses Environment editor, Red Pepper, Leo Murray Director, Fellow Travellers, Danielle Paffard UK divestment campaigner, 350.org, John Sauven Executive director, Greenpeace UK, Kia Trainor Director, CPRE Sussex, Anna Vickerstaff Co-director, UK Youth Climate Coalition, Vivienne Westwood Climate Revolution, Peter Willan Chair, Richmond Heathrow Campaign | |
| • Nigel Milton, director of external affairs at Heathrow, says the Airports Commission’s analysis “concluded that a third runway at Heathrow can be delivered in accordance with EU air-quality limit law, and would have less impact on health receptors (where people live and work) than a runway at Gatwick would have on the community in that area” (Letters, 22 October). | • Nigel Milton, director of external affairs at Heathrow, says the Airports Commission’s analysis “concluded that a third runway at Heathrow can be delivered in accordance with EU air-quality limit law, and would have less impact on health receptors (where people live and work) than a runway at Gatwick would have on the community in that area” (Letters, 22 October). |
| It made no such conclusion at all. Quite the opposite, in fact; the 2015 Business and Sustainability Assessment said of the Heathrow North West Runway that “against the Commission’s objective to improve air quality consistent with EU standards and local planning policy requirements the unmitigated impact of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme is SIGNIFICANTLY ADVERSE. Mitigations as above could limit this impact to ADVERSE if delivered with concerted effort from all parties including HAL but given the increases in pollutant concentrations at various health receptors and despite the fact that EU and local policy limits are not necessarily breached, the impact is unlikely to be able to reach a NEUTRAL level. | It made no such conclusion at all. Quite the opposite, in fact; the 2015 Business and Sustainability Assessment said of the Heathrow North West Runway that “against the Commission’s objective to improve air quality consistent with EU standards and local planning policy requirements the unmitigated impact of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme is SIGNIFICANTLY ADVERSE. Mitigations as above could limit this impact to ADVERSE if delivered with concerted effort from all parties including HAL but given the increases in pollutant concentrations at various health receptors and despite the fact that EU and local policy limits are not necessarily breached, the impact is unlikely to be able to reach a NEUTRAL level. |
| “The Heathrow Airport Northwest Runway scheme performs more poorly than Gatwick with respect to EU limit values as Gatwick has no monitoring stations predicted to be in breach of EU limit values, but more strongly than Heathrow Airport Extended Northern Runway”. | “The Heathrow Airport Northwest Runway scheme performs more poorly than Gatwick with respect to EU limit values as Gatwick has no monitoring stations predicted to be in breach of EU limit values, but more strongly than Heathrow Airport Extended Northern Runway”. |
| Since that was written, it has been verified that EU emissions limits around Heathrow are actually being breached now. | Since that was written, it has been verified that EU emissions limits around Heathrow are actually being breached now. |
| Mr Milton and others may be of the view that Heathrow expansion will be the best thing ever for the economy with £211bn in economic benefits, although without any explanation I suspect that figure may be plucked out of the air. Benefits or not, one thing is for certain – Heathrow is poisoning the residents around it now and will do so more if expanded. The Cambridge study is not worth the paper that it is written on. It is theoretical and modelled, and it depends on compliance with the Euro 6 engine emissions limits. Tests have shown that while vehicles may comply in laboratory situations, they are failing by up to 1,500% when out on the road.Neil SpurrierTwickenham | Mr Milton and others may be of the view that Heathrow expansion will be the best thing ever for the economy with £211bn in economic benefits, although without any explanation I suspect that figure may be plucked out of the air. Benefits or not, one thing is for certain – Heathrow is poisoning the residents around it now and will do so more if expanded. The Cambridge study is not worth the paper that it is written on. It is theoretical and modelled, and it depends on compliance with the Euro 6 engine emissions limits. Tests have shown that while vehicles may comply in laboratory situations, they are failing by up to 1,500% when out on the road.Neil SpurrierTwickenham |
| • Nigel Milton appears to be living in a parallel universe. Under current EU legislation, it is impossible to give the go-ahead for a third runway without an avalanche of legal challenges. Heathrow breaches the EU air quality directive for a number of pollutants, but nitrogen dioxide is the most intractable as local traffic and congestion is bound to increase in line with passenger numbers. The strategy being adopted by Heathrow management depends upon new diesel engines emitting less pollutants than current models, but this strategy is doomed to failure as recent studies demonstrate that even Euro 6 diesel engines emit much more NO2 on the road than they do in lab testing. | • Nigel Milton appears to be living in a parallel universe. Under current EU legislation, it is impossible to give the go-ahead for a third runway without an avalanche of legal challenges. Heathrow breaches the EU air quality directive for a number of pollutants, but nitrogen dioxide is the most intractable as local traffic and congestion is bound to increase in line with passenger numbers. The strategy being adopted by Heathrow management depends upon new diesel engines emitting less pollutants than current models, but this strategy is doomed to failure as recent studies demonstrate that even Euro 6 diesel engines emit much more NO2 on the road than they do in lab testing. |
| I suspect the reason that Theresa May has delayed a parliamentary vote on Heathrow (Report, 19 October) is to give the UK parliament time to invoke article 50, and repeal the relevant EU air quality directive. However, the chances of such a manoeuvre getting past the House of Lords is close to zero.Dr Robin Russell-JonesChair, Help Rescue the Planet | I suspect the reason that Theresa May has delayed a parliamentary vote on Heathrow (Report, 19 October) is to give the UK parliament time to invoke article 50, and repeal the relevant EU air quality directive. However, the chances of such a manoeuvre getting past the House of Lords is close to zero.Dr Robin Russell-JonesChair, Help Rescue the Planet |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
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