Responding to the release of detailed proposals for Heathrow Airport expansion, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns, reiterated the Green Party’s opposition to airport expansion, saying,
“Heathrow Airport expansion is a flightmare on Downing Street for people and planet. On one hand, this government is saying they’re taking the climate crisis seriously, and on the other, they’re backing a project that will release a reported 4.4m tonnes of CO2 a year. These expansion plans would see the number of flights at Heathrow Airport go up to 720,000 from their current capped number of 480,000 a year.
These expansion plans are, at their heart, aimed to deliver profit for shareholders to enable a small group of people to fly more and more. In the UK we have a few frequent flyers that make up less than 3% of the UK population but take 30% of all journeys. On top of this, they seem oblivious to the impact that these plans will have on the communities currently living around Heathrow. Government must be grounded in reality and look hard at the climate science. No credible net-zero plan can include rampant airport expansion, and it’s time Labour looked to the many, many alternative ways to create high-paid green jobs.”