£150m airport expansion
HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF ‘BLOWING THE DOORS OFF’ REGION’S CARBON BUDGET
view on aviation - we can’t avoid it.”
WYCA’s director of policy, strategy and communications Alan Reiss said there was a “difficult trade-off” between the economic and environmental benefits of whether or not to expand the airport.
He added: “The Mayor and combined authority has no authority over the planning application, and we are waiting for a decision the same as Leeds City Council are.”
LBA’s planning application for a new £150m terminal was approved by Leeds City Council on March 22. But campaigners, as well as both Labour and Tory MPs, supported calls for a public inquiry.
On April 6, the then-communities secretary Robert Jenrick postponed making a decision on this request, giving no timescale, and leaving the future of the plans in limbo. Michael Gove has since taken over Mr Jenrick’s role, but it is still not known when a decision will be made. Committee member and sustainability expert Prof Simon Pringle said: “[The airport is] absent from the plan and opens up a potential integrity gap.
“There may very well be a disconnect between the policy the combined authority takes and that of other organisations. The silence is reasonably glaring at the moment and it will be more so if those gaps open up.”
Coun Andrew Cooper is leader of Kirklees Council’s Green Party group. He added: “People are finding political space to say things about pensions and pension plans. Our council is asking the WY pension fund not to put money into fossil fuels. Another area it invests in is in the company that owns LBA.”
Leeds City Council currently has a target of 2030 for itself to be carbon net zero.
According to the draft plan, latest data indicates West Yorkshire’s emissions equates to 4.7 tonnes of CO2 per person.
Measures suggested in an electricityfocused approach include a “rapid uptake of electric vehicles”, alongside “significant” behaviour change from both industry and individuals.
Writing in the plan’s draft document, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said: “The climate and environment emergency is a real and present danger, affecting our health and wellbeing today. We can’t have a fair, just and inclusive recovery from Covid-19 unless we address the impact of climate change and nature in decline. West Yorkshire’s five councils and the West Yorkshire Combined
Authority have all committed to reach net-zero carbon emissions well before the Government’s target date of 2050.
“Prioritising good, green jobs, and investing in skills and training for young people to do them have been some of my key pledges as Mayor for our region’s economic recovery. Both will be vital to achieve our commitment to a fair, just and lasting recovery for all of West Yorkshire.”
The plans were approved by the committee and will go before a full West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting on Friday, November 22, for full approval.