Climate Change News
Below are news items on climate change – many with relevance to aviation
OEP seeks permission to intervene in Supreme Court appeal to highlight importance of clarity in environmental law
Time after time, with planning applications for developments or infrastructure, the carbon emissions of the building or activity itself are considered, but NOT the carbon emissions that result from it. For example, companies drilling for oil have to account for the carbon emissions from their drilling operations, but can ignore the carbon from burning the fuel. Airports have to measure the emissions from their operations and buildings on the ground, but can ignore the emissions from the planes, the flights of which are facilitated by the airport. Now the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has filed an application with the Supreme Court for permission to intervene in the appeal of R (Finch) v Surrey County Council highlighting the importance of clarity in the law to promote good environmental decision-making. This is whether account should be taken, by Surrey County Council, in granting planning permission, of the oil drilled from wells in Surrey. The OEP is now waiting to hear whether the Supreme Court grants permission for it to intervene. This case could set a precedent for refusal for other high carbon developments, including airports.
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Airline passengers in Europe may have slightly higher ticket prices before long
And end to the era of ‘absurdly cheap’ flights could be coming to an end, in the EU, as Brussels makes industry pay more for carbon emissions. Airline passengers may have to pay slightly higher air fares under newly strengthened EU rules designed to tackle aviation emissions, in a sign that the era of super low-cost air travel may be about to end. The EU wants to require carbon-intensive industries to pay more for their pollution with ticket prices likely to rise by up to €10 per return flight. This would be part of the ETS (Emissions Trading System) which only covers flights within Europe, not outside it. The rules phase out the current practice of allowing airlines to obtain a significant proportion of the permits they need for free by 2026. The total number of allowances in the system will also fall over time, which analysts expect to drive up the cost of aviation carbon emissions. Airlines for Europe, the industry lobby group, said the slight increase could lead to "up to 17% fewer passengers travelling through EU airports by 2035". How terrible. The EU is considering taxes on aviation kerosene.
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High Court has ruled that expansion of Bristol Airport will be allowed to go ahead
Campaigners against the expansion of Bristol airport legally challenged the decision of the Planning Inspectorate (PI), a year ago. The High Court has now ruled that the expansion can go ahead. North Somerset Council rejected the expansion in 2020 on environmental grounds but that decision was later overruled by the PI. Expansion would see the airport increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year. Opponents of the growth, through the Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), are very disappointed, but are already planning on challenging the ruling. BAAN has been arguing planning inspectors were wrong to ignore the impact a bigger airport would have on climate change. In his decision Lord Justice Lane said expanding the airport would impact the environment but that the decision is for central government not local. There is no proper law on UK aviation, or any legal means to control cumulative CO2 emissions from many airport expansion. The Climate Change Committee say there are big risks in the airline industry hoping for low carbon fuels in future, and recommend that "there should be no net expansion of airport capacity".
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AEF questions the CAA’s effectiveness on environmental issues
The Department for Transport recently called for evidence as part of a review of “the effectiveness and efficiency of the CAA. The consultation, which opened on the 28th of November 2022, closed on 29th January 2023. The main duties of the CAA are on safety and the well-being of its consumers, the air passengers. Its effectiveness on environmental issues is a subsidiary concern. Aviation Environment Federation submitted comments. Their opinion is that "the CAA’s strategy is inadequate in relation to all environmental issues. Many, perhaps most, of the deficiencies in the CAA’s strategy arise because it has no meaningful environmental duty and few powers to require the industry to achieve positive environmental outcomes. We believe this can only be remedied if the Government provides the CAA with an environmental duty, regulatory functions and clear guidance.” The AEF says the CAA is required to “have regard to the growth of the aviation sector”, but not to prioritise it over environmental sustainability. It does not act to regulate appropriately the climate or noise impacts of the aviation industry. See the full AEF response.
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Most avoided deforestation forest carbon offsets are worthless
The avoided deforestation carbon offsets approved by the world’s leading provider and used by Disney, Shell, Gucci and other big corporations including airlines are largely worthless and could make global heating worse, according to a new investigation. The research into Verra, the world’s leading carbon standard for the rapidly growing £1.6bn voluntary offsets market, has found that, based on analysis of a significant % of the projects, more than 90% of their rainforest offset credits – among the most commonly used by companies – are likely to be “phantom credits” and do not represent genuine carbon reductions. Companies often tell their customers that buying carbon credits means their purchase is "carbon neutral" and not increasing atmospheric CO2. That is usually nonsense. The forest credit is to ensure an area of forest is not cut down, but the study found that often there was only a small threat of deforestation there. If the threat is exaggerated, more carbon credits can be sold. Also there are rarely rigorous scientific methods to measure avoided deforestation. With climate change, the future health of forests - or the risk of severe forest fires - is unknown, and probably unknowable.
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“Don’t fly to the UK to visit the Cotswolds” District Council chiefs say
Civic leaders in the Cotswolds don’t want tourists to travel by plane to the UK to visit the area. The Cotswolds attract tens of millions of visitors each year. But Cotswold District Council cabinet members say they want to see fewer tourists from markets such as Asia and the Americas who would have to fly to the UK to visit the region. They would rather promote the Cotswolds to visitors who can get to the UK by more sustainable means. British families have taken the opportunity to holiday overseas in 2022 and the Cotswolds has seen a loss of domestic tourism as a result. But there has been a small rise in the relatively low number of overseas visitors. Some cabinet members would rather see visitors come to the Cotswolds via ferry or rail. Climate change and forward planning cabinet member Rachel Coxcoon (LD, Moreton East) told a recent meeting that she is “a bit disturbed about the idea of promoting flights to the UK”. Economic development lead officer Paul James said they have seen an upsurge in domestic tourism since the pandemic.
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Holland-Kaye says the rich should pay more for using SAF, to subsidise tickets for poorer countries
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos (which is attended by a lot of high carbon emission companies) the CEO of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, has said that in order for the industry to meet targets for the use of so called "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF) someone is going to have to pay more for air tickets, in order to pay for it. He said rich travelers will have to pay more to fly if the aviation industry is to transition to SAF, as they are hugely more expensive than conventional kerosene. If the rich, including most in rich countries, and businesses pay more, then tickets could cost less for people in poor countries. Of course, the best way to cut aviation CO2 is for people to fly less, but that idea is anathema to Holland-Kaye and his industry. SAF is expensive to develop, and the industry already has a lot of government subsidy, to develop its production. But it is unjust for the population, many of whom never or rarely fly, to have to pay for this fuel, for the minority who fly frequently. SAF is the only tool the industry has, to try to cut CO2 emissions, while increasing flights and passengers. However, in 2019 it accounted for just 0.1% of jet fuel used in commercial aviation, and the sector hopes it will make up 0% of global jet fuel by 2030.
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EU considering plans law to force companies to prove green claims are real – not greenwash
The European Union has drafted plans to make companies back up green claims about their products with science-based evidence, in an attempt to fight greenwashing and misleading advertisements. The draft legal proposal by the European Commission aims to clamp down on companies promoting their products as "climate neutral" or other "green" claims unless these can be substantiated. There would have to be proper methodology that tracks environmental impacts of all sorts, including air pollution and CO2 emissions. Currently most green claims are woolly, vague and misleading, and customers are buying products based on unreliable information. Under the proposal, companies that claim their product has a positive environmental impact must also disclose if this causes an negative impact in another area. Claims based on promises of future environmental performance must be backed up by milestones the company will achieve by specific dates, including if carbon offsets are to be used. There is currently no law against greenwashing in the UK, but the Financial Conduct Authority consulted in October 2022 about greenwash claims made for financial products, as it said the financial services sector was a major culprit. As is the air travel industry.
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Independent review of the government’s Net Zero target and what progress is being made
In 2019, the UK Government and the devolved administrations committed to the Net Zero target as recommended by the Climate Change Committee. Now Chris Skidmore MP has undertaken a review of the government's Net Zero plans. It looks at all sectors what progress has been achieved, and what is needed. There are many mentions of aviation, including how the sector will be responsible for an ever larger % of total UK carbon emissions, unless strong measures are taken. The review wants much more investment in so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF). It says Government should publish the Low Carbon Fuels Strategy in 2023 and the necessary legislation for the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate to apply from 2025. "Recognising that an adequate price stability mechanism is vital for investments in SAF, government should set out evidence for barriers to SAF investments and options to address this." And "In particular in the aviation industry, there are currently several projects looking at so-called recycled carbon fuels. To ensure these fuels deliver carbon savings, it will be important to ensure that these adhere to waste hierarchy principles and potential reduction in waste streams is considered." It also calls for an Office for Net Zero delivery for joined-up, cross departmental work and action.
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Campaign for Better Transport says it is time to properly tax private jets
Private planes emit some 50 times more CO2 than trains. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) thinks that private passengers who use private jets should start paying for the climate damage they cause. In 2021, there were 135,505 private aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) in the UK. European private jet carbon emissions have increased by 31% since 2005, far faster than commercial aviation emissions. The UK is responsible for more than any other European country. Few of these private jet trips are necessary, and the passengers could generally use commercial flights. Depending on the trip and the plane, a passenger in a private jet might be causing the emission of between 5 and 14 times as much CO2 per as a standard class air passenger. A few flights in a private jet could emit as much as an average EU citizen in a whole year, or ordinary living. CBT is calling for private jets to pay more. Currently they pay the same rate of APD as business or first-class passengers, with a higher rate applied to aircraft of 20 tonnes or more with fewer than 19 passengers onboard. This rate should be increased tenfold; this new ‘super’ APD tax could raise around £1.4 billion each year. VAT should also be charged.