Simple Flying - Channing Reid
UK government advisers recommend against the effort, while the country’s largest airport seems to be moving forward.
Global air travel bouncing back significantly has allowed airports to return to their focus on expanding to accommodate more flights. With achieving net-zero emissions being a major goal in the industry, how will growing airports in the UK be able to reach it?
As several aircraft aged more than 15 years are still flying around today, more flights ultimately mean more carbon emissions. Although the amount of carbon emissions is relatively low in the UK, advisers to the UK government believe that increased capacity is anything but a solution to the problem.
According to The Guardian, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said last week that flights in the UK accounted for 7% of carbon emissions last year. However, the trend has been increasing as more people feel safe returning to air travel. In December 2020, right in the middle of the global pandemic, the CCC recommended that the UK reduce emissions by more than 60% in the next seven years compared to 1990.
However, just last week, the CCC criticized the UK government for its efforts to reach net zero, saying leadership has missed climate targets on almost every front, according to The Guardian. The Committee also advised that UK airports should not move forward with efforts to expand until the government determines an appropriate way to do it.
