Climate Change News
Below are news items on climate change – many with relevance to aviation
Lib Dem manifesto says they oppose any new SE runway (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Estuary)
The Lib Dem manifesto states that they will: "Ensure our airport infrastructure meets the needs of a modern and open economy, without allowing emissions from aviation to undermine our goal of a zero-carbon Britain by 2050. We will carefully consider the conclusions of the Davies Review into runway capacity and develop a strategic airports policy for the whole of the UK in the light of those recommendations and advice from the Committee on Climate Change. We remain opposed to any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick and any new airport in the Thames Estuary, because of local issues of air and noise pollution. We will ensure no net increase in runways across the UK." However, when questioned by Eddie Mair on PM, on what the party would do in coalition - if the lead partner wanted a runway - Danny Alexander wriggled and said the party would look carefully if there was any "compelling new evidence" produced. He would not confirm the Lib Dems would stick to their new runway policy, if required to drop it in coalition. The manifesto says their Zero Carbon Britain Act will include: "A new legally-binding target for Zero Carbon Britain by 2050, to be monitored and audited by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The Climate Change Act 2008 established an aim to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 based on the 1990 baseline."
Click here to view full story...
Green Party manifesto against any new runway, and against favourable tax treatment of aviation
The Green Party says: "Long-distance travel by air is one of the most energy-intensive and polluting forms of transport and causes health-damaging local pollution near airports. Aviation fuel goes untaxed and there is no VAT on tickets, amounting to a £16 billion a year subsidy in the UK. We need a shift in priority, removing subsidies from air travel to invest in public transport that supports the common good." .... "Against this backdrop, mainstream transport policy, which urges us to travel further and faster than ever before, is senseless, yet this is what all parties except the Green Party offer you." .... "The key to getting this right is to manage demand rather than increase it; that is, to reduce the need to travel in the first place. " [Though most of the suggestions deal with local travel, they include]: - "Encourage alternatives to travel, such as video-conferencing. " ..." The major challenge for our transport system is to decarbonise it and end its reliance on fossil fuels. We would: .... End the favourable tax treatment of aviation and have a separate target for aviation emissions below 37.5 million tonnes CO2 equivalent a year."... And: "Stop airport expansion, in particular no new runways at either Heathrow or Gatwick, and ban night flying."
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick opposition groups and MPs hand in letter to Downing Street, asking PM to recognise devastating impact of Gatwick runway
Six local groups and four MPs opposing a 2nd Gatwick runway, and the increased noise nuisance caused by Gatwick airport, handed in a letter to 10 Downing Street today. They urge the government to recognise the strength of local opposition to a 2nd Gatwick runway, and changes to flight paths. They are asking the Prime Minister to recognise the devastating impact of a 2nd runway, the lack of local political support and the strength of feeling among local residents against changes to flight paths already in and out of Gatwick. The delegation will hand in the letter, signed by the chairs of the groups representing residents in Sussex, Kent and Surrey, that surround Gatwick and are affected by it. Together, the groups represent tens of thousands of people. Sally Pavey, Chair of local group CAGNE commented: "Throughout this process, we’ve been hugely disappointed with Gatwick’s lack of consultation with the local area. CEO Stewart Wingate continues to portray the airport as an ‘easy option’ for expansion, while ignoring the concerns of thousands of local residents. Also that it will cost the taxpayer billions in infrastructure bills and the devaluation of vast areas of the south-east with aircraft noise." CAGNE have also submitted an official complaint to the Airports Commission, on the actions of Gatwick airport in lobbying Heathrow councils to back a Gatwick runway.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick says Birmingham backs its runway – they definitely don’t want the competition of an expanded Heathrow
Gatwick Airport has a blog on its website by Karen Lumley, the Conservative MP for Redditch. She is a keen aviation expansion supporter, and in her blog backs Gatwick over Heathrow, for a new runway. Ideally she - and other MPs in the Birmingham area - would like to see Birmingham airport expanded. But they are nervous of Heathrow expanding, as it is close enough to take trade away from Birmingham. But Gatwick is far enough away not to be a direct threat. Birmingham is too far south to have a flight to a London airport (train travel is fast and easy), so the new London runway idea cannot be "sold" to them with promises of new connecting flights in future - which works for airports further away. The attitude of Manchester airport, significantly further north than Birmingham, is to oppose either new runway, at Heathrow or Gatwick, due to the amount of public money which would inevitably have to be spent on transport and social infrastructure - even if the airports paid for all the on-airport costs of the expansion.
Click here to view full story...
Strong “No New Runways” bloc gets its message across at the London Time To Act Climate March
The huge "Time To Act" on Climate Change march was held in London on Saturday 7th March. There was a good turnout, described by some as "over 5,000" and by others as nearer 20,000 (numbers are always hard to be accurate on). The "No New Runways" bloc had a good attendance, from Gatwick and from Heathrow opposition groups, as well as many individuals. Gatwick protesters from CAGNE wore pantomime devil horns, and T-shirts with the logo "Gatwick, Neighbour From Hell." Many people who stand to lose their homes, to be bulldozed for a new Heathrow runway, too part. The AirportWatch banner read "No New Runways", and another" Aviation Expansion = Climate Threat. The runway bloc were with others in the transport bloc, and marched from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Parliament, where the speeches took place. During the speeches John McDonnell (the MP for Hayes and Harlington, which the Heathrow north west runway would wipe out) spoke of the need for climate action, not least to oppose a new runway - digging up the village of Harmondsworth. He described the level of protest and direct action that would happen, if the north west runway was recommended, as unprecedented and the "mother of" all environmental battles. The aim of the march is to put pressure on political parties before the general election, and raise the profile of climate change ahead of crucial climate talks in Paris in December.
Click here to view full story...
Germany fines aircraft operators €5.36 million as it publishes first Aviation EU ETS non-compliance list
GreenAir online reports that Germany has become the first EU country to publish a list of aircraft operators that have not complied with the EU ETS for emissions in 2012. Other countries have not published lists, but the number not complying is thought to be quite high. According to the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt), fines totalling €5,363,400 have been levied on the 44 operators named. Most are small aircraft operators. Under Article 16 of the EU directive that brought aviation into the EU ETS, EU member states must publish the names of aircraft operators they administer that are in breach of requirements to surrender sufficient allowances to cover their emissions. For 2012, the allowances were required to be submitted by the end of April 2013 but nearly two years on, an unspecified number of airlines and smaller aircraft operators remain non-compliant. The penalties are €100 for each tonne of CO2 emitted for which the aircraft operator has not surrendered allowances. It is clear that there is a reluctance by states to publish publicly-available lists of non-compliant airlines, particularly those from outside Europe. This is likely to be due to "political sensitivities" as discussions continue at an international level to agree a global market-based measure for aviation CO2.
Click here to view full story...
Committee on Climate Change writes to Sir Howard to say aviation CO2 emissions must not be over 2005 level by 2050
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has written to the Airports Commission (AC) in response to its consultation. The letter reiterates the Committee’s earlier recommendation that the Airports Commission’s economic analysis of the expansion options should reflect the need to restrain aviation growth in order to manage emissions from the sector. This in effect means that the costs of limiting emissions – which may be transferred to passengers or industry – are included in the cost-benefit analysis for each of the 3 runway schemes. The AC has yet to complete this assessment. The CCC is clear that the Government’s airports policy should reflect the need for aviation emissions to be no higher in 2050 than in 2005, this being the maximum level of emissions that would be compatible with the Climate Change Act. However, the ‘uncapped’ forecasts for national aviation emissions produced by the AC exceed the 2005 emissions levels under all three possible expansion options. In the absence of some unspecified policy that would limit emissions, therefore, a new runway would result in the UK failing in its legal climate commitments. The CCC letter says "Higher aviation emissions than 2005 levels in 2050 should not be planned for, since this would imply greater than 85% cuts in other sectors; there is limited confidence about the scope for this."
Click here to view full story...
UN climate negotiations need to get agreed emissions targets for international aviation and shipping
Bill Hemmings, of Transport & Environment, writing in Euractiv after the recent UNFCCC talks, says the relevant UN bodies should identify an emission reduction pathway, and ensure that any measures adopted are done so in a fair and equitable way. The UNFCCC negotiating text now includes wording calling for the setting of emission reduction targets for international shipping and aviation, in the context of the objective of the agreement – which is to limit any temperature increase to 2 degrees. There will be more dialogue between parties on why this wording should be included in the Paris Agreement at COP 21. In a "business-as-usual" scenario, CO2 emissions from shipping could increase by up to 250% and from aviation by 270% by 2050. These would account for one-quarter of all allowable emissions under a 2-degree scenario in 2050 and one-third under a 1.5-degree scenario. Despite this reality, the IMO and ICAO have a long record of inaction. ICAO says it will agree by 2016 the details of a measure to deliver carbon neutral growth in 2020, but even that is uncertain and it will depend heavily on the quality of offsets used. However, in any case "carbon neutral growth" by the aviation industry globally will be insufficient to meet a 2-degree scenario.
Click here to view full story...
Global Subsidies Initiative report calls on governments to include commitment to cut fossil fuel subsidies, for climate
A recent report by the Global Subsidies Initiative calls on governments to include commitment to cut fossil fuel subsidies in their pre-Paris climate action plans. It says that phasing out the $543 billion of consumer subsidies handed to fossil fuels globally each year could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 6 – 13% by 2050. Leading governments, such as the UK, need to made good on their long-standing pledges to phase out these subsidies. It says this is a “feasible and cost-effective option for reducing GHG emissions and staying within a 2C target of warming". The money spent on subsidising fossil fuel would be more effectively used on greater energy efficiency or on renewables. A study by the Overseas Development Institute in November 2014 said the G20 nations had been spending almost $90bn a year on finding more oil, gas and coal. The UK Government has implemented massive subsidies – largely through the tax regime - to promote exploration and development of risky and unconventional oil and gas in recent years, including deep-water offshore resources and shale gas. UK national exploration subsidies in the UK total up to $1.2 billion per year on average. There is also spending overseas for fossil fuel exploration, which totalled $3.3 billion from 2010 to 2013 – an annual average of $825 million.
Click here to view full story...
Talks in Geneva target a carbon emissions cap on international aviation and shipping
Work is progressing on text for the climate talks in Paris in December. In Geneva work has started, with representatives from over 190 countries, on negotiating texts on how there could be caps on carbon emissions from international aviation and shipping. The EU has been supportive of this sort of cap, having been the first to have an Emissions Trading System including aviation, till the ETS was scuppered last year. Brussels eventually had to cut the range of the ETS to only include flights within the EU, after trade threats from the USA, China and others. Air travel is one of the fastest growing sources of CO2, and the Paris negotiating text might encourage the global aviation industry to levy funds to be used to help poor countries adapt to climate change. However, any measures to limit aviation CO2 emissions are expected to be opposed by many countries. Including shipping and aviation emissions in a global climate deal has proved difficult in the past. If emissions from these sectors are not addressed effectively by 2050, bunker emissions could swell to account for a quarter of all emissions. ICAO is working on a proposal for some form of market based measure on carbon, due to be considered in 2016. Bill Hemmings, of T&E, said: "ICAO has promised action by 2016 but operates in complete secrecy."