RACHEL Reeves has been slated by climate campaigners for announcing plans to extend airports in England, including the development of a third runway at Heathrow.
During a major speech on economic growth in Oxfordshire, the Chancellor said the runway is "badly needed" and could create 100,000 jobs.
She also promised a decision to expand Luton Airport and build an emergency runway at Gatwick Airport will be delivered soon, while the Government is set to work with local authorities to reopen the Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Climate activists have responded with fury to the plans, with Green MSP Mark Ruskell calling the expansion to Heathrow a “disaster for future generations”.
Estimates from Heathrow Airport in 2018 speculated that the cost of a third runway would be more than £14 billion, with inflation now likely increasing that figure further.
Ruskell (below) said: “This is yet another climate-wrecking decision from a Labour Government that is determined to fund so-called ‘economic growth’ by pouring billions of taxpayers money into the pockets of private companies.
“A third runway will be a disaster for future generations; increasing carbon emissions at this crucial time for our planet's future is nothing but climate vandalism. Transport emissions across the UK are still far too high; we need to invest in reducing them through cheap and efficient public transport.
“Instead of forcing an unnecessary new runway, we could connect cities across the UK with cheap and effective high-speed rail, cutting the cost of commutes and our national carbon emissions, whilst also funding regional-rail expansion, restoring rail connectivity to communities across Scotland.
The UK Government has already backed the expansion of City Airport and Stansted Airport around London.
Reeves also confirmed plans for road schemes – confirming an upgrade on the A428 between Milton Keynes and Cambridge – as well as pledges to reform environmental protections as part of a bid to get homes and infrastructure built.
Reeves vowed to build "Europe's Silicon Valley" connecting Oxford and Cambridge too. The Government wants thousands of homes and better transport links to be developed in the area between the cities.
Shaun Spiers, executive director at environmental think tank Green Alliance, warned Reeves against “growth at any cost”.
“The economic case for bigger airports and new roads is highly questionable, and it’s crystal clear that pushing ahead with these will fly in the face of the UK’s climate targets,” he said.
“Rachel Reeves recognises that the low carbon economy offers ‘the industrial opportunity of the 21st century’: we should grasp this rather than chasing high carbon, high risk projects.”
David Walsh, head of public affairs at WWF, added there was “no trade-off” between economic growth and net zero.
“As the Chancellor rightly recognises, building a clean economy is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century,” he said.
“Now is the time to put pounds back in people’s pockets by insulating homes, decarbonising power, and investing in public transport.”
He warned Reeves was making a “costly mistake” with airport expansions that take decades to build and increase carbon emissions.
Rachel Solomon Williams, executive director at the Aldersgate Group of companies, charities and other organisations pushing for ambitious climate and environmental policy, disagreed with the Chancellor’s assessment that environmental protection was obstructing growth.
“Nature is fundamental to the UK’s future prosperity and ensuring that it is protected and restored as part of new development will generate economic growth, increase innovation and create jobs,” she said.
