Third Heathrow runway should only go ahead if airlines pay for cleaner flying, say advisers
The UK's Climate Change Committee has advised that Heathrow's third runway should only proceed if the aviation industry fully funds decarbonization efforts. This requirement could significantly increase flight costs for passengers to meet Net Zero targets.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between economic expansion through infrastructure projects and the UK's legally binding climate change commitments.
Image source, Getty Images By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent Published 9 minutes ago Heathrow's third runway cannot be approved without changes to current climate policies, the government's advisers have said.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) , external said expansion can still go ahead but only if the aviation industry funds cleaner fuels and pays for machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air.
Making the industry pay could push up the cost of flying with a return trip to Alicante costing around £150 more by 2050, and a return to New York up £400 in today's prices, it said.
Once built, the expanded airport would produce more carbon dioxide than any other single sector of the economy by 2050. Heathrow said expansion and climate goals were "not a choice" and it would deliver both.
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