Government tries to deny its climate responsibility to aim for 1.5C temperature rise, in pushing for 3rd Heathrow runway

The pre-trial hearing for the series of legal challenges against the Government’s decision to expand Heathrow takes place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday 15th January.  In legal correspondence between the defendant (Government) and one of the claimants, Plan B Earth, the Government argues that “[Plan B] is wrong to assert that “Government policy is to limit warming to the more stringent standard of 1.5˚C and “well below” 2˚C’.  This means that the Government is effectively denying that its own policy is to limit warming to the level that has been agreed internationally is required to avoid climate breakdown. The legal challenge brought by Plan B Earth and Friends of the Earth assert that the Government decision to proceed with Heathrow expansion was unlawful as it failed to appropriately consider climate change. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell described the case as “the iconic battleground against climate change”.  The Committee on Climate Change had previously expressed surprise that neither the commitments in the Climate Change Act 2008 nor the Paris Agreement (2015) were referenced in the Government’s Airports National Policy Statement (aka. the plans for a 3rd Heathrow runway).This is a huge inconsistency.
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GOVERNMENT TRIES TO ‘TRUMP’ ITS OWN CLIMATE POLICY

14th January 2019  (No 3rd Runway Coalition)

  • ASSERTS THAT DELIVERING PARIS AGREEMENT IS NOT POLICY
  • DENIES INTENTION TO LIMIT WARMING TO 1.5˚C 

The pre-trial hearing for the series of legal challenges against the Government’s decision to expand Heathrow takes place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday 15th January (1).

In legal correspondence between the defendant (Government) and one of the claimants, Plan B Earth, the Government argues that “[Plan B] is wrong to assert that “Government policy is to limit warming to the more stringent standard of 1.5˚C and “well below” 2˚C’ (2).

This means that the Government is effectively denying that its own policy is to limit warming to the level that has been agreed internationally is required to avoid climate breakdown.

The legal challenge brought by Plan B Earth and Friends of the Earth assert that the Government decision to proceed with Heathrow expansion was unlawful as it failed to appropriately consider climate change. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell described the case as “the iconic battleground against climate change” (3).

The Committee on Climate Change had previously expressed surprise that neither the commitments in the Climate Change Act 2008 or the Paris Agreement (2015) were referenced in the Airports National Policy Statement.

Paul McGuinness, Chair of the No 3rd Runway Coalition said:

 “The Government appears to be trying to contradict its own policy, agreed at an international to seek to avert climate catastrophe. The evidence for action is overwhelming, agreed by the scientific community and nation states alike.

“Yet, it appears that Government is happy to deny this policy when it becomes inconvenient to the delivery of their pet project of Heathrow expansion. It is time for the Government to pursue sustainable alternatives and not continue to lock the UK into carbon intensive infrastructure.”

 

ENDS.

Notes:

  1. High Court, Court 76, 10.30am                               https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-cause-rcj
  2. https://planb.earth/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/REPLY-TO-DGR.pdf
  3. John McDonnell MP outside the High Court, 4 October 2018

 

For more information:

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/8b8ad1_737e62cee9a44560ac1a629fc27d5945.pdf


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See Michael Gove speech on climate change (26.11.2018) and the UK at 

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/michael-gove-speech-on-uk-climate-change-projections

which says:

“This is why we are aiming to limit warming to well below 2 degrees – but the environment agency is preparing for 4 degrees when planning flood defences. We know that every half a degree makes an enormous difference to outcomes. Keeping warming to 1.5˚C rather than 2˚C, as the Paris Agreement urges us to attempt, spares up to 10million people from being exposed to the risks of rising seas, according to the IPCC.”


See also

 

Pre-trial hearing on 15th January of the 5 legal challenges against ‘unlawful’ Government decision to approve 3rd runway

Campaigners are taking the government to court in a bid to overturn the “unlawful” decision to approve a 3rd Heathrow runway. The pre-trial hearing for Friends of the Earth’s case will take place on Tuesday at the High Court, when the activists will lay out their opposition based on several grounds. There are 5 separate legal challenges being brought by a range of organisations, on  grounds of climate, air quality and harm to the wellbeing of local residents.  It would be virtually impossible for Britain to meet its obligations to cut emissions under the Paris climate agreement if a new Heathrow runway is built [or for that matter, one at Gatwick either]. The Government’s advisory body on climate change, the Committee on Climate Change, has warned the expansion also threatens the government’s own legally binding pledge to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said, without any justification for his belief, that he was “confident” that technical innovations would cut aviation CO2 emissions enough, so expansion could happen without breaking the targets. Hopes that either biofuels or electric planes would enable aviation to become a low carbon means of transport are unrealistic.      Click here to view full story…

 

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See  earlier:

 

Heathrow Airport expansion: Transport secretary dismisses warning that climate change targets will be smashed

Independent committee is poised to warn that soaring emissions from third runway will destroy Britain’s greenhouse gas reduction commitments

Rob Merrick Deputy Political Editor  (Independent)

@Rob_Merrick
Monday 25 June 2018

The transport secretary is on a collision course with climate change experts after denying the expansion of Heathrow Airport will smash the UK’s legal commitments.

An independent committee is poised to warn that the controversial third runway will – through soaring emissions – destroy hopes that Britain can meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) will say that UK aviation must not exceed its pre-recession peak of emitting 37.5m tonnes of CO2 in 2005, if the targets are to be hit.

Yet a report published on the department for transport website last week said aviation emissions would hit 43m tonnes of CO2 by 2030 if Heathrow expansion goes ahead.

However, Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, rejected the fears – insisting modern planes were “breaking new frontiers” by cutting fuel use, emissions and noise.

“The Airports Commission came to a very clear view that we could expand Heathrow airport and still meet our climate change obligations,” Mr Grayling claimed.

They gave it the thumbs up, they did lots of detailed analysis on this and they said ‘yes we can do this’.”

Challenged, on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, on the likelihood that CO2 emissions would rise, Mr Grayling replied: “I think technology, over the next 20 or 30 years, is going to make a big difference in aviation.

“It’s happening already, if you look at the new aircraft. That’s going to make a huge difference to fuel consumption and emissions and noise at airports.”

Ministers are facing accusations that they are “fixing” the Heathrow vote, by staging it three days before the climate change committee’s report is published.

It is expected to warn that aviation and other emissions are growing so fast that homeowners and businesses may have to sacrifice gas cookers, central heating boilers and petrol cars for Britain to meet its targets.

The UK emitted 800m tonnes of CO2 in 1990 and ha pledged to cut this to 344m tonnes by 2030 and 160m tonnes by 2050 – an 80 per cent reduction.

Lord Deben, the CCC’s chairman and a former Tory minister, has written to Mr Grayling, warning of the perils of expanding aviation, The Sunday Times reported.

Labour has condemned the timing of the vote tonight, Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, calling it “outrageous”.

“MPs will be voting in ignorance of the key facts about emissions from aviation. It’s a free vote but I am recommending all Labour MPs oppose Heathrow expansion,” he said.

Environmental groups warn that expanding aviation will in effect take Britain out of the Paris agreement on climate change.

James Beard, a climate specialist at the World Wide Fund for Nature, said: “We can live up to our commitments to tackle climate change or we can build a third runway. It’s almost impossible to do both.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/heathrow-airport-expansion-vote-chris-grayling-climate-change-third-runway-transport-secretary-a8415326.html

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