The Government is still not doing enough to demonstrate that it
can mitigate the environmental impacts of the planned new runway
at Heathrow, MPs on the cross party Environmental Audit Committee
have found.
MP, Chair of the Environmental
Audit Committee, said:
“If the Government wants to get Heathrow expansion off the
ground it needs to show that a third runway can be built and run
without exceeding legal limits on air pollution or breaching our
carbon budgets.”
“We have seen little evidence of the ‘step change’ in the
Government’s approach we called for in our previous report.”
“Worryingly, the Government looks set to water down the
limits on aviation emissions recommended by its own climate
change advisors. That would mean other sectors of the economy,
like energy and industry, having to cut their carbon emissions
even deeper and faster.”
“Mitigating the air quality, carbon and noise impacts of a
new runway cannot be an afterthought. Ministers must work harder
to show that Heathrow expansion can be done within the UK’s
legally binding environmental commitments.”
Air Quality
The UK has already breached EU NO2 limits in London for 2017. A
new air quality strategy is urgently required to ensure that
airport expansion is not granted at the expense of public
health. The Committee is concerned that the Government has
given no guarantees that air quality targets will be maintained
after the UK leaves the EU.
The promise not to increase road traffic at Heathrow needs to be
rigorously monitored, with clear accountability and consequences
for failure. The MPs are concerned that the Government is relying
on people switching to cleaner cars to reduce air pollution but
have no confidence the Government will meet its targets for
uptake. The report calls on the Government to implement an alert
system for people who are especially vulnerable to short-term
exposure to air pollution in London.
Carbon emissions
Scant detail has been provided on the Government’s approach to
carbon emissions limits. The figures used by Ministers for the
costs and benefits of expansion are based on a hypothetical
international framework to reduce emissions which does not yet
exist. The figures would leave international aviation emissions
15% higher than the level assumed in the UK’s Fifth Carbon
Budget, which runs from 2028-32. . The Government is considering
rejecting the recommendations of the independent Committee on
Climate Change on the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon
emissions. The Government should publish an independently
scrutinised strategy to reduce carbon emissions from
international aviation and set out the resulting costs on other
sectors to test their feasibility and desirability.
Noise
Measures on noise lack ambition; with no precision offered on the
timing of a night flight ban and little evidence that predictable
respite can be achieved. The case for an Independent Aviation
Noise Authority with powers to enforce policy recommendations
remains clear. The Committee is concerned that the Government is
watering down the powers it intends to give to a new noise
oversight body.
Notes to Editors:
Recent figures from the Royal College of Physicians show that air
pollution leads to some 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each
year including instances of heart attack and stroke.[1]
The Department for Transport published a draft National Policy
Statement (NPS) for airports expansion on 2 February 2017.
Since the Committee’s report was agreed, the Liaison Committee
has designated the Transport Select Committee to scrutinise the
draft National Policy Statement.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/inquiry1/
