Here’s some good news: we can still limit the effects of climate change , like floods and wildfires, if we make the right choices today. As Sir David Attenborough said: “Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that.” Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
Burning fossil fuels, like jet fuel, produces greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the climate. Most people want our government to protect the climate and scientists say we can, and must, cut all emissions in half by 2030. Yet Leeds Bradford Airport’s new ‘vision’ would increase greenhouse gases by 2030.
LBA says that increase would be temporary , so it doesn’t matter. That simply isn’t true - the next few years are crucial. The scientific advice is crystal clear.
The Climate Change Committee is an expert body and its recommendation to government is to stop all airports from expanding unless there are clean fuels that are proven to cut aircraft emissions at large scale. That may well happen one day but the experts agree that day is a long way off. So the responsible decision is not to increase flying until that day comes.
That doesn’t mean closing the airport or stopping holidays abroad - it just means not expanding LBA at this time. Advertisement Advertisement For anyone thinking ‘people will just fly from other airports’, remember: the recommendation is not to allow any airport to expand. It’s good that LBA wants to make its terminal building carbon neutral, but 95% of its greenhouse gases come from flights .
A carbon neutral terminal won’t make flying ‘green’ any more than recycled cigarette packaging would make smoking ‘healthy’. Of course we need jobs but there’s a better way to support our economy. People want more investment in clean industries, like building wind turbines to make cheap, renewable electricity, and super-insulating peoples’ homes to cut greenhouse gases and energy bills at the same time.
LBA says that expansion is good for businesses but recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows that business air travel and economic growth are ‘decoupling’. Advertisement Advertisement UK businesses spent £2.9 billion less (-22%) on air travel in 2023 compared with 2019 (in 2023 prices), despite real GDP growth of 1.
8% over the same period. 15,000 more flights a year would also mean a huge rise in noise and air pollution . The World Health Organisation warns that both harm human health.
If you think LBA would stick to any limits imposed by Leeds City Council , think again. The airport broke the night flight rules in 2022 and 2023 and is breaking them again this summer. You just can’t trust LBA’s management.
I’ll end with something personal. I have Motor Neurone Disease , the same illness as Rob Burrow , so I won’t live long enough to see how well we deal with the climate crisis. But I’m determined to do everything I can to leave a safe world for my great nephews.
Will you join me? You can read LBA chief executive Vincent Hodder’s expansion strategy announcement statement here.
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