22 November 2007 - Ruth Kelly’s announcement in favour of further expansion at Heathrow Airport has been condemned by Green Party Principal Speaker and MEP Caroline Lucas as an act of "climate vandalism", and she accused the government of being "in denial" over climate change.

She said: "How it can be possible for the Prime Minister, just a few short days ago, to say that climate change was ‘an immense challenge to the world’, to which he promised to give utmost priority, in his first major speech on climate change since becoming Prime Minister - and now just a few days later, to give the green light to a major expansion of aviation, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions? 

“Such behaviour isn’t just pathological, it demonstrates a monumental failure of political leadership.

"The problem is the government is simultaneously committed to two completely contradictory policies.  One is to cut dramatically greenhouse gas emissions.  The other is to expand the aviation industry.   The success of the first policy has been limited.  The success of the second has been remarkable. 

“But it’s time to challenge the political establishment to stop trying to inhabit two parallel worlds, and to accept that it simply isn’t possible to expand aviation and simultaneously reduce aviation emissions.  Efficiency gains via technological improvements are dwarfed by the overall growth rates, and the bottom line is simply this: the aviation industry has to stop expanding."

"Expansion at Heathrow is also likely to to breach mandatory EU air quality limit values that will apply from 2010 - I will be raising this with the Commission", she said.

Dr Lucas, who was the European Parliament’s Rapporteur, or spokesperson, on aviation and environment last year, has been instrumental in developing EU legislation to try to reduce aviation emissions.  Just last week, the European Parliament voted on the Commission’s proposal to put the aviation sector into the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Dr Lucas concluded: "If emissions trading is to have a hope of reducing aviation emissions, there has to be a rigorous overall emissions cap, and serious limits to the amount of extra permits aviation is allowed to buy from other sources (ie, other industrial sectors, or projects abroad). Sadly, these two provisions were conspicuous by their absence in the commission proposal, but on the latter at least, I’m very pleased the Parliament has accepted my amendment to introduce such limits."

ENDS