One way to curb emissions while expanding Heathrow could be by throttling the very thing its sprawling infrastructure would be built to serve: passenger demand.
It’s a message echoed by a host of UK climate experts this week, including the government’s official advisor the Climate Change Committee.
“Emissions from flying are projected to rise, even without Heathrow expansion, and the UK does not currently have a credible plan to bring them down. That poses a serious challenge to our climate commitments,” said Nigel Topping CMG, chair of the Climate Change Committee.
He said that a Heathrow expansion is “not currently compatible with the UK’s Net Zero target.”
“Government needs to ensure that the aviation industry takes responsibility for the emissions it creates and bears the costs of decarbonisation. Those conditions do not exist today,” he added.
Aviation is 2.5% of global carbon emissions, but