Friends of the Earth - Tell Rachel Reeves: don’t put plane profits before planet. Sign our petition.

 

From Friends of the Earth

BREAKING: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has given the green light to airport expansion while we're in a climate emergency. 

Expanding airports like Heathrow won’t do much, if anything, for the communities that need growth the most. Instead, benefits will be enjoyed by shareholders and the wealthiest few who fly frequently.  

Airport expansions mean more subsidies for a heavily polluting industry - when we desperately need to be doing all we can to reduce emissions. Greenlighting a third runway at Heathrow alone could jeopardise the UK’s ability to meet our climate promises and put us all at risk of more extreme weather. 

Add your name now to this petition to demand no more airport expansion while we’re in a climate emergency. LINK

Rachel Reeves' statement that growth trumps everything is the short-sighted kind of thinking that has led to the climate crisis. And the growth that would come from expanding airports like Heathrow is questionable.

• Airport expansion doesn’t make flying cheaper. According to the Treasury’s own analysis, the costs of expanding Heathrow airport could add £40 to the cost of an airline ticket.
• More money leaves the UK from outbound flights than is spent by incoming tourists. Tourism spending is concentrated in London and a few hotspots, with little benefit elsewhere.
• Emissions from flights are growing while the aviation industry receives at least £10 billion in subsidies annually, due to tax breaks on fuel. This costs taxpayers and allows the sector to pollute without meeting climate targets. And the burden of climate action is shifted onto other sectors.
• Analysis by the New Economics Foundation shows that if expansions at 4 UK airports including Heathrow are allowed to go ahead, they will cancel out the carbon savings of this government’s clean power plan in just 5 years.

 

Rather than planning to trample over nature protection rules and binding carbon reduction targets, the government should be investing in a bold and fair climate plan. A plan that means we can all benefit from cheap energy, widespread public transport, thriving nature and well-paid green jobs.