The Government is likely to be challenged by its own climate change advisory body on its decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow and permit a doubling in air travel by 2030. The Committee on Climate Change believes that the rapid expansion of air travel is inconsistent with the Government’s legally binding commitment to cut overall carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050. It believes that allowing aviation to expand at the rate proposed by the Government could place an unacceptable burden on other industries to achieve the cut.

The committee is also concerned that the expansion of air travel will undermine efforts to persuade developing countries to agree emissions cuts at the UN summit on climate change in December. When approving the third runway in principle in January, the Government made it conditional on the aviation industry meeting its own target of cutting emissions to 2005 levels by 2050. Ministers avoided using the 1990 baseline because this could have forced airlines to halve the present number of flights.

Air passenger numbers grew from 102 million in 1990 to 240 million in 2007 and are due to reach 470 million by 2030.

In a letter published today, the committee says that if aviation emissions are at 2005 levels in 2050 the rest of the economy will have to make 90 per cent cuts to achieve the overall 80 per cent emissions reduction target. The committee will publish a review of UK aviation and its impact on climate change on December 8, one week before Gordon Brown and other world leaders are due to sign a global treaty on cutting emissions.

In an interview with The Times David Kennedy, the committee’s chief executive, said: “It wasn’t specified in our terms of reference but we could take it upon ourselves to talk about Heathrow in our UK aviation review.”

Read the full article in The Times.


Of course the numbers don't add up, and David Kennedy is right to consider Heathrow expansion in the review.

If a 90 percent cut were to be required without expansion, what on earth would it be with a third runway?