Government likely to ignore climate advice by CCC, turning just to carbon trading, to try to push Heathrow runway through
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Govt must set out a strategy to limit emissions from international flights before its final decision on Heathrow –
Heathrow: Government considers ignoring climate advice, turning to carbon trading
Fresh row about pollution from Heathrow expansion
Ministers consider ignoring recommendations of UK’s official climate change advisers
By Pilita Clark, Environment Correspondent (FT)
27.1.2017
The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has ignited a fresh row about plans for a third Heathrow runway by suggesting ministers might ignore the government’s official climate change advisers’ recommendations on the project.
The Committee on Climate Change, a statutory body that advises governments on meeting the UK’s greenhouse gas targets, has for years said aviation emissions need to stay at 2005 levels until 2050 to meet those goals — advice past governments have accepted.
However, Mr Grayling has revealed in a letter to the Commons environmental audit committee that “the government has not taken a view on whether to accept” this advice.
He also notes that one possible way to deal with aviation emissions is a “carbon-traded scenario” involving a “future global carbon market”.
This appears to contradict the Committee on Climate Change, which maintains aviation pollution should be controlled without the use of international carbon credits, or paying for emissions cuts in other countries.
Mary Creagh, the Labour MP who chairs the environmental audit committee, said the letter raised questions about the proposed new runway at Heathrow, which Mr Grayling said last year could be delivered within carbon limits.
This is yet more evidence that ministers need to go away and do their homework on the environmental impacts of this project
John Sauven, Greenpeace
His letter shows the government has not yet decided what those limits should be, Ms Creagh said. “The government should set out its strategy to limit carbon emissions from international aviation before taking a final decision on Heathrow expansion. Anything else is putting the cart before the horse.”
John Sauven, Greenpeace UK executive director, said Mr Grayling’s letter suggested ministers were prepared to ignore the recommendations of their own statutory advisers “to please the aviation lobby”.
“This is yet more evidence that ministers need to go away and do their homework on the environmental impacts of this project, whether it’s air pollution or carbon emissions,” he said.
Concern about how the new runway can be built without breaching the UK’s carbon targets has been building since Theresa May’s government gave the scheme the go-ahead in October.
Transport department documents published at that time suggested aviation emissions would be 15 per cent higher than 2005 levels.
That prompted the committee’s chair, Conservative peer Lord Deben, to write to Greg Clark, the business and energy secretary, to warn that, if this happened, emissions from other sectors would have to be cut.
Heathrow’s extra runway is proof that travel remains central to our lives
To keep aviation carbon pollution at 2005 levels would already imply an 85 per cent cut in all other parts of the economy.
Lord Deben said his committee therefore had “limited confidence” that enough cuts could be made to make up for a rise in carbon pollution from the new Heathrow runway.
The committee said on Friday that, if the government now thought it was appropriate for aviation pollution to exceed 2005 levels in 2050, ministers should explain how other sectors should be preparing for bigger cuts when they publish an emissions reduction plan due to be published later this year.
A Department for Transport spokesman said the ministry agreed with the Airports Commission’s assessment that a new runway at Heathrow could be delivered without breaching the Climate Change Act, which requires emissions to be cut by at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050.
“The commission considered several ways in which aviation emissions could be tackled. The government remain open-minded on this issue,” he said.
https://www.ft.com/content/f14aef54-e4a8-11e6-9645-c9357a75844a