Government told airline growth should halve if UK wants to meet climate change target
The government’s climate experts have warned that the predicted growth in air travel needs to be halved or Britain risks missing its emissions commitments.
The Climate Change Committee’s chair John Gummer, Lord Deben, said that that aviation emissions could be cut by 20 per cent, but only by limiting growth.
Read more: No business is an island in the fight against climate change
He said that a limit of 25 per cent growth on 2018 levels by 2050 could, when matched with better fuel efficiency and new sustainable biofuels, cut the impact of what will become the UK’s largest emitting sector. It compares to government projections that the sector will grow by 50 per cent.
Gummer warned that flying has climate warming effects beyond just mere carbon emissions, but that it could still be part of the mix in 2050.
He also warned against putting too much faith in science to solve the issue.
“Novel fuels … could allow greater reductions, but their development is highly speculative and should not be relied upon,” he said.
It comes after Theresa May’s government earlier this year adopted a plan to reduce the UK’s emissions to net zero by 2050. This means that Britain will produce no more emissions than it absorbs.
Gummer said that the government should also assess its airport strategy to only allow development which makes economic sense in a net zero world.
John Stewart, the chair of campaign group Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, said: “The big message of the report is that unfettered demand cannot continue. The Committee on Climate Change is challenging the government to find ways of managing that demand.”
The news comes as world leaders meet in New York for a UN climate change conference.
Read more: Labour hopes to lease 30,000 electric cars to public in climate drive
On Monday, teenage activist Greta Thunberg called on global politicians to act now.
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she said.