Never Mind the Promises, What Have You Actually Done?

It should hardly come as a surprise that the UK government will be challenged yet again on its plan to build a third runway at London's Heathrow airport (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/19/ministers-face-fresh-legal-challenge-over-heathrow-airport-plans). Although the original legal blocking of the scheme was overturned by the Supreme Court, this was largely on the basis of environmental promises that had been made at the time planning was first approved. Things have moved on since that time. The UK boasting of its 'world-leading' climate change credentials, has promised it will be carbon neutral by 2050. The difficulty is that it is hard to see much actual movement on that front. There has been the much-heralded promise to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. That, however, is a promise for the future and diesel/petrol cars will still be running in 2030. Promises have also been made on carbon capture but this also appears to be coming in very slowly. The UK also appears not to have sorted its taxation codes. There is more tax on wind and solar power than on coal. Kerosine fuel for jet aircraft avoids any tax. Air travel is a very major generator of 'greenhouse gases', pumping them high into the atmosphere. If the UK is going to get anywhere near net zero by 2050, we need less rather than more air travel. This might be a good time to examine whether the original approval for the third runway is actually a decision appropriate to the present times when the dangers of climate change are now obvious. Promising good things and then not delivering on them could become a signature characteristic, if the government are not more careful. Walk the walk as well as talking the talk!