Leeds Bradford campaigners, GALBA, taking government to court over ‘fantasy’ Jet Zero strategy
Campaigners from local group, GALBA, against the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport are taking the Government to court over its ‘fantasy’ so-called Jet Zero strategy to cut aviation CO2 emissions. GALBA’s Nick Hodgkinson is making the legal challenge, on behalf of the group, as the strategy is seriously deficient; the aim is to get the government to reverse it. With the impacts of global heating and climate change ever more apparent, it is wrong for the aviation sector to be allowed to increase its carbon emissions. The government’s climate advisors, the Climate Change Committee, have said air travel demand has to be reduced, but the government has repeatedly ignored this. Nick said that in reality, the strategy has no real plans to cut emissions, and actually does the opposite … “it gives the green light to large scale expansion of airports and emissions. The government is just crossing its fingers and hoping there will be techno-solutions at some point in the future.” The legal challenge will cost perhaps £60,000 and GALBA is working with other UK airport groups to raise the necessary funds.
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Leeds Bradford Airport expansion campaigners taking government to court over ‘fantasy’ Jet Zero strategy
Campaigners against the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport are set to take the Government to court over its ‘fantasy’ strategy to cut emissions.
By Alex Grant (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Tuesday, 27th September 2022
Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) launched its campaign against what they describe as the Government’s ‘fantasy’ strategy to cut the polluting greenhouse gases caused by flying.
The campaigners are taking the government to court in an attempt to reverse the Jet Zero strategy, which was launched in July this year. The legal challenge is being made by Nick Hodgkinson, on behalf of GALBA.
The campaigners are taking the government to court in an attempt to reverse the Jet Zero strategy.
Nick is from Leeds and is terminally ill with Motor Neurone Disease. Nick, an active member of GALBA, said: “With the UK recording its highest ever temperatures this summer, wildfires burning down homes, parts of our region severely flooded last year and Pakistan currently under water, we simply cannot allow the aviation industry to pump out even more greenhouse gases and make the climate crisis worse. But that’s exactly what the government wants to allow and that’s why we’re taking them to court.”
The Jet Zero strategy has received fierce criticism from independent experts claiming it ignores repeated advice from the Government’s own climate change experts to limit demand for flying.
GALBA claims that Jet Zero encourages unrestrained growth in aviation – based on the hope that new fuels and technologies will be developed to cut emissions from flying to net zero by 2050.
Experts have warned, however, that these technologies either cannot be developed or cannot be scaled up in time to meet that crucial target date. As such GALBA believes the strategy is unlawful and is launching a Judicial Review.
Nick said: “The government claims that Jet Zero is how the aviation industry will reach net zero emissions by 2050. But that’s a fantasy. In reality Jet Zero does the opposite – it gives the green light to large scale expansion of airports and emissions.
“The government is just crossing its fingers and hoping there will be techno-solutions at some point in the future.
“That’s like someone speeding down a road that ends at a cliff edge over a ravine. Instead of slowing down way before the edge, the driver says ‘it’ll be fine, someone will have built a bridge by the time I get there’.”
GALBA previously took action against LBA’s expansion plans.
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Leeds Bradford Airport campaigners hit out over Government strategy
27th September 2022
By Felicity Macnamara (Telegraph & Argus)
@FelicityM_TandA
CAMPAIGNERS are planning to take the Government to court over what they have dubbed a “fantasy” strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions from flying.
The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) has today launched its bid to reverse the Jet Zero strategy
The legal challenge is being made by Nick Hodgkinson, on behalf of GALBA. Nick is from Leeds and is terminally ill with Motor Neurone Disease.
He said: “With the UK recording its highest ever temperatures this summer, wildfires burning down homes, parts of our region severely flooded last year and Pakistan currently underwater, we simply cannot allow the aviation industry to pump out even more greenhouse gases and make the climate crisis worse.
“But that’s exactly what the Government wants to allow and that’s why we’re taking them to court.”
Nick added: “The Government claims that Jet Zero is how the aviation industry will reach net zero emissions by 2050. But that’s a fantasy.
“In reality, Jet Zero does the opposite – it gives the green light to large-scale expansion of airports and emissions.
“The Government is just crossing its fingers and hoping there will be techno-solutions at some point in the future.
“That’s like someone speeding down a road that ends at a cliff edge over a ravine. Instead of slowing down way before the edge, the driver says ‘It’ll be fine, someone will have built a bridge by the time I get there’.”
He added: “Taking legal action costs money. We’re relying entirely on donations from the public to fund this challenge and we’re confident that responsible people around the country will help GALBA raise the £60,000 we need.”
GALBA is working closely with other airport campaigners around the country to raise the money.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are committed to decarbonising transport, not by stopping people doing things but by helping people to do the same things differently and more sustainably.
“Our analysis suggests the aviation sector can achieve Jet Zero without the Government needing to intervene directly to limit aviation growth, with net zero targets achieved by focusing on new fuels and technology in a way that maximises economic and social benefits, rather than limiting demand and activity.”
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38 Degrees petition:
To: Liz Truss, The Prime Minister; Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of State for Transport and Baroness Vere, Minister for Aviation.
STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION: REWRITE THE GOVERNMENT’S DISASTROUS NEW AVIATION STRATEGY
The Government must rewrite its supposed green aviation plan – called ‘Jet Zero’ – to prevent more planes, more noise pollution, and more damage to our fragile climate.
Why is this important?
The Government has introduced a long-term plan which is supposed to stop the aviation industry damaging our environment. In reality, it does the opposite. The strategy allows airports to keep expanding – helping frequent flyers to fly even more and increasing noise pollution in our local communities. Not to mention the damage more flights will do to our precious planet.
This isn’t about stopping families going on well-deserved holidays. There is plenty of capacity for that at our existing airports! It’s about preventing unnecessary airport expansion for the benefit of the tiny number of frequent flyers responsible for most of our environment-damaging flights.
Even the Government’s own environmental experts think the plan is bad – they’ve said there can be no airport expansion if we’re to hit our crucial environmental targets!
In fact, the Government has just been ordered by the courts to rewrite it’s big climate plan because it wasn’t clear or ambitious enough. The ‘Jet Zero’ strategy is part of that plan and is just as shambolic – for example, relying on unproven tech like carbon capture and hydrogen planes. It needs to be rewritten to include things like frequent flyer levies to reduce demand.
That’s why we are calling on the Government to rewrite its Jet Zero Strategy – and stop all airport expansion now.
Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) and Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN)
See earlier:
AEF RESPONDS TO GOVERNMENT’S ‘JET ZERO’ STRATEGY
In July, the DfT set out its “jet zero” strategy – with the intention of bringing down UK aviation CO2 emissions to “net zero” by 2050, (after allowing an increase) with sub-targets to make domestic flights and airports “net zero” by 2040. Environmental groups are distinctly unimpressed, as the strategy has very low ambition or real measures to cut the CO2. The groups say there should be detailed policy proposals on how the strategy’s ambitions will be achieved, with specific policy mechanisms to create incentives for the development and deployment of “zero emission” aircraft and “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF). There also needs to be a clear decarbonisation pathway to cut emissions by 2035, compared to 2019, not by 2050. It needs to cut air travel demand, which is the only sure way to cut emissions, but the strategy studiously avoids doing that. There should be no airport expansions allowed. And the non-CO2 impacts should be included, which they are not. The AEF considers that the near term policies are too ineffective – just using the UK ETS and more SAF, and the cost of decarbonisation measures should be borne by the aviation industry, not the taxpayer.
Click here to view full story…
Carbon Brief Analysis: UK’s ‘jet-zero’ plan would allow demand for flying to soar 70% – with higher emissions
In a detailed analysis, Carbon Brief looks at the DfT’s “Jet Zero” strategy and how realistic it is for UK aviation to continue to expand, based on future technologies. Under the strategy’s plans, the UK aviation sector will not reach net-zero by 2050, but instead will still be emitting 19m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e). It plans for aviation emissions rising from 38MtCO2e in 2019, to 52MtCO2e by 2050. A range of speculative tech brings the 52 down to 19MtCO2e. For the UK to reach its legal net-zero target, these emissions will need to be removed from the atmosphere. The plans will also see passenger numbers increase by 70% from 2021 to 2050, representing an additional 200 million passengers. The government has no intention of reducing air travel demand – contrary to the advice of the CCC. In its “high-ambition” scenario, the use of “sustainable aviation fuels” (SAF) in UK flights would reach 10% of overall fuel use by 2030 and 50% by 2050. The CCC has said this reliance is a major risk. SAF is currently barely used because, as the government acknowledges, they are expensive and their production relies on technology that is “yet to be proven at scale”.
Click here to view full story…
Inadequate Jet Zero strategy criticised by environmental groups and even pilots
The DfT has produced its “Jet Zero Strategy” which is the nearest thing there is to an aviation policy for the UK. Though, as that, it is entirely inadequate. Leading environmental groups – Green Alliance, Friends of the Earth, Possible, Transport & Environment and AEF – have explained why the strategy is ineffective, in cutting future aviation CO2 emissions. The Climate Change Committee’s annual report, published in June, found the aviation industry (also agriculture) is unprepared for meeting the UK’s legally binding climate targets for “net zero” by 2050. The Jet Zero strategy needs to have detailed policy proposals on how its ambitions will be achieved, with specific policy mechanisms to create incentives for the development and deployment of zero emission aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels. It should have a detailed decarbonisation pathway that achieves genuine carbon reductions before 2035, not only after then. It needs to have a plan to curb air passenger demand, as novel and untested technological solutions – on which the strategy largely depends – cannot be relied up. Even BALPA, the pilots’ union, has said the strategy places too much faith is future technologies, that may not deliver.
Click here to view full story…
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