Coalition sets out plans on runways and nuclear
a third runway at London Heathrow airport.
and Stansted.
a new low-carbon economy.
to be built.
said: “This is fantastic news that will be met with great relief.
to anybody who understood the impact aviation has on our climate.
If demand for flying in the South-East continues to increase, operators may look
eastwards for a new airport.
by a tax on the plane, not passenger.
and poorly-used flights more expensive. There are several ramifications to this
policy, which will play out in time.
its word to build a high speed rail network. But some Tories have been worrying
about the cost of this at the current time, and that will surely be a factor in
the timing of any plans.
majority to push through new nuclear stations through the energy department which
will be run by Chris Huhne from the Liberal Democrats who have an historic opposition
to nuclear.
to abstain on the nuclear vote, although they may speak against. Labour will support
nuclear, though, so the stations will get built – if conditions are met.
wedded to nuclear as Labour (The nuclear industry had direct access to Gordon
Brown through his brother, head of media for the French firm EDF.)
will be inside government offices to ensure that no hidden inducements are sneaked
through.
unless they are offered better incentives.
on this issue. The Green Party has already been angling for disaffected Liberal
Democrat environmentalists for the next election.
Liberal Democrats were judged by far the greenest of the main parties by Friends
of the Earth, and their presence in government gives weight to Mr Cameron’s Vote
Blue, Go Green slogan.
many of whom are sceptical about man-made climate change.
economy, but there will be doubts about whether low-carbon energy targets will
be met and whether Conservatives will be prepared at this time to continue to
underpin low-carbon jobs.
for instance, a major low-carbon hub. This may be a source of future tension.
will commit to a “huge” increase in energy from waste thro digestion by bacteria
and the roll-out of “smart” interactive local electricity grids.
vehicles, though it is not clear what “mandating” means and who is to be mandated.
standard, though the standard is still to be decided.
and storage. The government will continue Labour plans for four carbon capture
and storage demonstrations in which power station emissions will be pumped into
underground rocks.
The government will adopt measures to promote green corridors and wildlife, although
there are no more details and it is hard to imagine this policy will be a priority
in the short term.
to roam in the countryside in the Scandinavian fashion?
landowners have barred the gate.
of a high-speed rail network. The cancellation of the 3rd runway at Heathrow.
The refusal of additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted. The replacement of
the Air Passenger Duty with a per flight duty. The provision of a floor price
for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning
of ETS permits.
I am really concerned about the regionals. For example, one of the Boris bloggers
has already suggested that this now leaves Boris open to use London City Airport
to make up what they feel is a shortfall in flights.
The Lib dems said they opposed expansion at SE airports – but how will the regionals
be treated by the coalition? The regional expansions were seen by the Tories as
the way out of expanding Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted and there was certainly no
commitment from the Tories on London City Airport, let alone all regionals one
way or another. London City Airport appears to be the politicians favourite to
use and I think they’ll be a lot of press interest looking to the expansion of
LCY and beyond. The stampede to lobby them has already begun.
see also
BIA is jumping for joy at the prospect of being able to take over from Heathrow
– worrying times for those in the West Midlands – the new frontier:
12.5.2010 http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/news.aspx?id=190&articleid=604