MPs find airport expansion could put the UK’s net zero goals in “serious jeopardy”

A cross-party committee of MPs has raised concerns about the UK government’s airport expansion plans, warning that continuing without stronger environmental safeguards could jeopardise legally binding net zero targets.

image: UK Parliament

The Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) inquiry examined whether the government can deliver airport expansion and meet the environmental goals that it has signed up for. The committee concluded that current policies are insufficient to reduce aviation emissions in line with statutory carbon budgets.

Its report, Airport Expansion and Climate and Nature Targets, highlights that “Whilst it may be possible for the government to deliver airport expansion alongside its climate and environment targets, we are concerned that the proposed environmental impact from airport expansion will make such targets significantly more difficult to achieve and at much greater effort and cost.

“Furthermore” they add, “the government has not demonstrated that the economic growth from airport expansion provides enough benefit to outweigh the negative climate and environmental impacts it will lead to.”

While expanding airport capacity is likely to provide some growth to the UK economy, the MPs say the “level of that growth is unclear and that the government has failed to provide substantial supporting evidence.” Approving expansions already at Stansted, Luton and Gatwick “suggests it is proceeding without the necessary evidence base to sufficiently underpin its economic arguments.”

MPs also highlighted that reliance on future technological fixes, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel, is uncertain, and that demand management measures—like limiting flight numbers—have not been properly considered.

The EAC also recommends that expansion projects are reviewed in the context of national climate and biodiversity targets, with robust evidence demonstrating that new or upgraded infrastructure can meet environmental requirements.

Toby Perkins, chair of the committee and Labour MP for Chesterfield said, “The aviation industry is critically important to the UK, but it’s also one of the hardest sectors of our economy to decarbonise. The government has made clear it is set on expanding airport capacity; the committee has investigated how it can do that whilst meeting its own environmental targets. 

“Meeting our decarbonisation targets is already a major challenge. Expanding airport capacity is likely to make that task much harder. Under the government’s existing Jet Zero Strategy, expanding airport capacity is likely to put net zero at serious risk, unless it is accompanied by a serious strategic approach to increasing the pace of decarbonising aviation.

“Having ruled out the kind of demand management measures likely to seriously reduce emissions, ministers need to make clear what alternative tools they are willing to use to ensure targets are met. New technological developments are promising and may in time provide an alternative route forward. But are they yet ready to be the basis for justifying this level of aviation expansion?

“This problem can’t simply be outsourced to industry; the scale of the challenge is too great and only government has access to some of the tools needed.”