Heathrow legal challenge launched

By Richard on 08/04/2009
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The first legal challenge to Heathrow's third runway has been launched: a coalition of thirteen groups, including local councils and NGOs, has brought a judicial review of the consultation process. If successful the Government would have to scrap its blatantly fraudulent consultation and start the whole process again.

Calling in the lawyers is so commonplace now that I can't help but wonder why the Government keeps getting caught by them. It was only a couple of years ago that they got stung by Greenpeace over the consultation on nuclear power, in which they were held to have prejudiced the outcome by announcing in advance that they wanted new nukes all over the country.

So how did they launch this consultation? By colluding with BAA to rig all the data, to make it look as though Heathrow could expand within strict "local environmental limits", and by announcing at every opportunity that they were "minded" to expand, but needed to ask us exactly how they should do it. I'm looking forward to hearing from DfT's legal beagles as to how being "minded" does not mean "building it whether you like it or not".

It's clear from the outcome that the Government wanted to build the third runway. The only consultation we had was on the immensely technical (and rigged) analysis of the environmental and traffic modelling - there was no question that the runway was getting the go-ahead. It was, as Swift put it more elegantly than I, not a question of whether we should be eating the baby, but rather, whether it would taste better boiled or fried.

Police brutality at Camp for Climate Action in the City of London

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Wednesday's Climate Camp in the City was going well, until the police decided to storm their way in with baton charges...

Emissions trading scheme a bit unfair, complain airline lobbyists

By Richard on 03/04/2009
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Environmentalists have long complained that the Government's solution to aviation emissions, the EU emissions trading scheme is about as useful as a (vegan) chocolate teapot. That's the ETS, which will, by the EU's own account, reduce industry growth to just 78% by 2020, instead of 83%. But the aviation industry's international lobby group has decided it's the greatest threat to the industry, like, ever.

Giovanni Bisignani, head of IATA - a group set up to complain in a whiny voice whenever anyone suggests that aviation might want to stop shitting on the carpet - used to oppose the ETS as unfair. Now he's arguing that the ETS is going to lead to a patchwork of different schemes, all of which overlap and interlink, which he thinks is far worse than an international agreement. The ETS should therefore be scrapped while everyone starts all over again to work towards a multi-lateral agreement.

I should probably point out that IACO, another international aviation body, has been trying to get an international agreement for several years now. It has been a complete failure, because every country wants their own carriers exempted and everyone else's charged to the hilt. There are no signs that this situation will change, because the industry lost almost $5 billion last year thanks to the recession.

So where does all this leave us? The ETS is rubbish, and that while it exists the UK Government can keep using it as a get-out-of-jail-free card to avoid doing anything about aviation emissions. But is it better than nothing? I'm meant to say yes here, but consider this: if the industry succeeds in overturning the ETS, then the Government might actually have to do something about reducing aviation emissions. The enemy of my enemy?

Plane Stupid launches Adopt a Resident campaign

By Richard on 31/03/2009
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Environmental activists from across the UK have 'adopted' Heathrow residents to support them in their fight against a third runway and prepare them to defend their homes in the event of BAA being given permission to build the runway. The activists were brought together by Plane Stupid. Over tea and cakes in St Mary’s Church Hall in Harmondsworth on Monday 30th March 40 residents were adopted.

Local resident Lynne Davies said, “We are very excited about this scheme. Many local people are feeling very vulnerable with the threat of a third runway hanging over them. They will appreciate this support. And it shows our determination to stay put. We don’t believe the new runway will ever be built but this link up with the young activists sends a clear signal to the Government and BAA that we are not alone.”

Heathrow planning permission delayed until 2012

By Richard on 27/03/2009
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BAA have announced that plans to build a third runway at Heathrow cannot be submitted for planning permission until 2012, after the next election. If we trust the Conservatives (and that's a big if), then the runway won't get built. Cameron and his transport supremo Theresa Villiers have been very, very clear that they would change the Government's planning framework to reject expansion at Heathrow. They're currently leagues ahead of Labour in the polls.

This is the second airport expansion BAA delayed this year: back in February they announced that Stansted would be delayed until 2017 - effectively taking their plans off the table. It must be embarassing for Labour, who spent most of last year rushing through the consultation so that the runway could be brought in during their time in office. Or did Labour's fiddling of figures in the consultation cause the delay?

After weeks of media exposure, no one could possibly think that the consultation was solid enough to last through a public inquiry. Had BAA pushed ahead as planned then every consultant from here to Oxbridge would have been queueing up to have a go at their magic planes and disapearing NOx levels. It would have been open season, and topped off by a new Government waltzing in and scrapping both expansions. Faced with the prostpect of egg all over their faces, is it any wonder they backed off a bit?

Plane Stupid Scotland: four arrested over peaceful banner drop

By Richard on 21/03/2009
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Four activists from Plane Stupid Scotland were arrested after a peaceful banner drop near Edinburgh airport. After dropping a banner reading 'Airport expansion is stupid' from the fourth story of a car park opposite the terminal building they were taken to St Leonard’s police station and charged with Breach of the Peace. The four were to appear in court on Friday, but the case was thrown out moments before the court opened.

The action was highlighting the double standards of the Scottish government committing to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emission by 2050 whole planning to expand all of Scotland’s airports. The group also questioned the logic of 60% of flights from Edinburgh airport being to UK destination.

One of the protestors, Natalie, said "Ordinary people like us must realise that if we don't take action to save ourselves then no one else will. Overwhelming Scientific evidence points to the fact that we have very little time left before our emissions take us to the point of no return and aviation is the fastest growing cause of carbon emissions in the UK. Yes, Climate science is complex but some things seem very clear cut; expanding airports at a time when we need to be dramatically curbing our emissions is stupid."

After causing no alarm and agreeing to peacefully take the banner down, the protesters were unexpectedly taken to St Leonard's police station in Edinburgh, along with a friend who was simply taking a photo of the stunt. It became apparent the real reason for their sudden arrest was for CID to aggressively interrogate the four, part of their on-going efforts to find informers from within the group. Laughably, the CID men compared the group's "leaders" to Hitler and warned the protesters that dogs could easily have been set on them!

This is yet another heavy handed arrest by police treating protestors in the UK on the same level as criminals and terrorists. After recent reports from last year’s Climate Camp showing police included confiscation of soap "because protesters might use it to make themselves slippery and evade the grip of police" more and more protestors are denied their freedom of expression and ending up in custody for speaking out against Government policy.

Johnny Agnew, a spokesman for Plane Stupid Scotland said “It feels as if this country is becoming a police state. The police are so nervous about public protest that they will arrest and charge us over anything possible. Every day we are confronted by endless advertising from powerful corporations and yet normal people cannot make their voices heard.”