Press Release

Become a Golden Supporter

For Immediate Release: Wednesday 27th April 2005

Election candidates challenged to match green rhetoric with reality
Parties' airports and climate change policies examined

In the lead up to next month's election, Birmingham Friends of the Earth has been asking the main parties' prospective parliamentary candidates for Birmingham and Solihull to explain how, if elected, they intend to match their parties' promises to reduce the UK's contribution to global warming with real action.

Aviation is the fastest growing source of the greenhouse gas emissions believed to be causing climate change or 'global warming'. In a speech on 4th September 2004, the Prime Minister described climate change as so far-reaching in its impact and irreversible in its destructive power that it "radically alters human existence". However, the Government is still pushing ahead with the massive program of airport expansion set out in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper, including a second runway and runway extension at Birmingham International Airport.

Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigner James Botham said:

"Sustained year-on-year reductions in emissions are needed to properly address climate change. The runaway growth in aviation emissions means that the parties cannot have their cake and eat it when it comes to air transport growth: either they are serious about climate change, in which case expanding Britain's airports is unthinkable, or they are not."

Mr Botham continued:

"Birmingham Airport is preparing its Master Plan for publication later this year. We saw in 2002 how the airport used it's 'environmentally friendly' 'Birmingham Alternative' proposals to dupe many local politicians into accepting a second runway. The Master Plan will no doubt be similarly received but we will be working with local residents' groups to remind our elected representatives of their parties' environmental commitments."

How do the Birmingham and Solihull Labour groups reconcile the Prime Minister's promise to lead effective action on climate change [1] with their enthusiasm for airport and aviation growth? How can the Lib Dems be trusted to oppose major expansion at Birmingham Airport when they have supported airport expansion elsewhere in the country, for instance at Liverpool, Exeter and Manchester? [2] The Conservatives have produced a 'green manifesto' however, which does contain a number of initiatives on combating climate change and builds on a very welcome speech by Shadow Transport Secretary Tim Yeo earlier in the year [3], but only the Green Party is tackling the problem head-on.[4]

Editor's Notes

[1] Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised that, along with Africa, climate change will be "our top priority" at this year's G8 summit. The recent
manifesto re-commits Labour to meeting the UK's carbon dioxide reduction targets for 2010 and 2050. In his introduction, Mr Blair promises to lead on the environment, one of the "world's greatest challenges".

Labour's problem was summarised by the Environmental Audit Select Committee: "aviation policy remains the most glaring example of the failure of Government to put sustainable development at the heart of policy making". ('Aviation: Sustainability and the Government response', House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, seventh report of sessions 2003-4, June 2004, p13, para 30).

In 1999 the European Commission published a Communication stating that the growth in aviation's contribution to climate change was unsustainable and must be reversed, (EC COM 99 640, Dec 1999) and the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee has warned that, ". . . the proposed growth in emissions into the atmosphere by the aviation industry [is] unsustainable and unacceptable. Were such growth to occur, it would totally destroy the Government's recent commitment to a 60 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050." ('Budget 2003 and Aviation', House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, ninth report of sessions 2002-2003, July 2003, para 17.)

[2] The Liberal Democrats say, "We want to cut emissions from aviation by rejecting Labour's flawed plans for airport expansion." (West Midlands Liberal Democrat press release, 22nd March 2005). But according to the Green Party, "Although the Liberal Democrats have admitted that air travel is an unsustainable form of transport with severe local impacts, they have supported airport expansions, voted against tough noise limitation laws, argued that air travel should be made 'more affordable' (presumably to encourage people to fly)." ('Too Yellow to be Green: the environmental pretensions of the Liberal Democrats', Caroline Hayes, Spencer Fitz-Gibbon (Ed.), Green Party of England and Wales, 2nd Edition, September 2004.)

[3] 'Tories back Europe-wide tax on aviation fuel', The Guardian, 21st March 2005. Mr Yeo said: "If I was in office on May 6th, I would want to straight away talk to my colleagues in Europe about how we could make progress towards a fuel tax. Aviation has to take account of its environmental impact to a greater extent than it has done in the past."

[4] The Green Party manifesto pledges to: cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent by 2010, and 90 per cent by 2050, oppose all airport expansion and ban night flights; tax aviation fuel and move shorter flights to rail.

Friends of the Earth's analysis of the parties' manifestos can be found at
www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/general_election_2005_what.pdf