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| Thu, 1st Apr 2021 10:51:00 |
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Should airports be allowed to expand? |
Airports around the UK want to expand and increase flights, despite a government commitment to cut emissions.
Are their plans bad for the environment, and will they interfere with the UK's ambition to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050?
Why do airports want to expand?
Airports are privately run and they want to grow to increase profits.
British airports also employ hundreds of thousands of people, and the owners say a strong aviation sector is vital for the UK's future as a trading nation. Many pension funds are invested in the industry.
That's why councillors have approved a new terminal at Leeds Bradford Airport, and a runway extension at Southampton may be agreed later this month.
In total, eight airports round the UK have plans to grow.
Covid restrictions have hit aviation hard, with few people currently flying. But the industry hopes numbers will bounce back.
What are the arguments against?
Flying creates noise and local pollution - and it adds to greenhouse gases that are overheating the planet. British Airways' CO2 emissions alone were similar to those of all of the UK's vans put together, says the green group Transenv.
BA doesn't deny the figure but says it's committed to reducing its impact.
At the moment flying produces around 6% of the UK's emissions - but aviation has been allowed merely to stabilise its emissions while other sectors have to cut theirs. So the effects of flying will grow proportionately over time.
Planes also damage the climate in other ways. They emit nitrogen oxide (NOx) gas, a pollutant. They also create contrails - ribbons of cloud that can warm the atmosphere.
Scientists believe the overall effect of non-CO2 emissions at altitude is between two and four times that of the CO2 emissions alone.
Read original full article
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