Carbon value of Heathrow third runway increases to £100bn

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Heathrow is leading the passenger traffic charge at EU airports, as numbers increased by more than 300 per cent in July. 
Heathrow is leading the passenger traffic charge at EU airports, as numbers increased by more than 300 per cent in July. 

The costs of bringing down the carbon impact of Heathrow’s proposed third runway has doubled as a result of the UK Government’s net-zero ambitions.

According to research by London think tank New Economics Foundation, the third runway’s carbon value for the 2025-2050 period has gone up from £50bn to £100bn, potentially impacting the expansion plans, the Guardian reported.

“In a climate emergency, any project or policy which creates new greenhouse gas emissions comes at great cost to society,” said the report, which was presented today to the parliamentary group overseeing the airport’s expansion.

“Either we suffer the consequences of deeper ecological collapse, or someone, somewhere, has to ‘clean up’ those gases.”

“We cannot afford to underestimate the implications for major projects such as Heathrow expansion and future generations will not thank us for creating complicated financial mechanisms which won’t do anything to actually help the environment,” the outlet reported Tory MP David Simmonds as saying.

According to the hub, Heathrow can combine its expansion plans with the country’s roadmap to net zero.

” While our current focus remains on responding to the pandemic, we remain confident that we can expand and meet stringent targets,” said a Heathrow spokesperson.

“The recent commitment by the whole global aviation sector to net zero and the UK government’s ambition for 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 are clear steps towards taking the carbon out of flying, even as we grow.”