Heathrow’s third runway plans grounded over climate concerns
UK JUDGES STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION PLAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE GROUNDS
AUK court yesterday halted Heathrow Airport’s controversial planned third runway as the government “did not take climate commitments into account”, reports said.
In its verdict on the case brought by environmental groups, councils and the Mayor of London, the Court of Appeal held that the “Heathrow expansion decision was unlawful because it did not take climate commitments into account”, the BBC reported.
The judges said that a third runway could go ahead in the future, as long as it fits with the UK’s climate policy.
The BBC reported there were “whoops and jumps of jubilation from environmentalists outside the court room” after the judgement was pronounced.
Friends of the Earth, one of the environmental groups that brought the case, said the ruling was “an absolutely groundbreaking result for climate justice” and “has exciting wider implications for keeping climate change at the heart of all planning decisions”.
“It’s time for developers and public authorities to be held to account when it comes to the climate impact of their damaging developments,” the group’s Will Rundle said.
While Heathrow said it would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court, the government said it would not appeal.
Appeal court judges overturned a May decision that threw out lawsuits from Friends of the Earth and other groups seeking to challenge the UK government’s approval of the plan. Judge Keith Lindblom said that the then-Transport Secretary acted “unlawfully when failing to consider climate change”.
The $20 billion (Dh73.45 billion) expansion at the London hub was delayed for decades because of concerns about extra aircraft noise, increased pollution, the demolition of homes and the impact on already crowded roads. The decision risks causing further delays and uncertainty to a project that was proposed in 2002.
‘Eminently fixable’
“Today’s landmark Heathrow judgement is a victory for Londoners and future generations,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement. “We face a climate emergency and I’m delighted that the Court of Appeal has recognised that the government cannot ignore its climate change responsibilities.” A Heathrow spokesperson said it will appeal to the Supreme Court, and added that any issues were “eminently fixable.”
Shares of British Airways parent IAG SA, which were already falling because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, slumped further after the ruling. The stock was down 7.2 per cent at 10:22am.