Aviation and Air Pollution

Richmond and Twickenham Friends of the Earth has been campaigning against airport development at Heathrow since the group started.
It campaigned against Terminal 3, Terminal 4, Terminal 5 and Runway 3, and will campaign against Terminal 6, but we are also concerned about broader issues such as climate change, air pollution and demand management. We work closely with other groups in the West London Friends of the Earth network and with Friends of the Earth nationally.

Key issues for the campaign are:

To ensure that demand management is central to aviation policy and that aviation policy accords with national environmental policies, such as climate change targets.
Together with many others in Friends of the Earth, locally and nationally, we are campaigning to reduce and eliminate the tax concessions received by the aviation industry in the form of tax-free fuel and VAT-exempt products.
If such concessions were removed then the predictions for air transport growth would be lower and the Government's proposals for airport expansion would not be necessary.
We are also asking the Government to take account of its own policies on climate change in its dealings with the air transport industry.
At present the air transport industry and the Government are ignoring the impact that air transport has on the global climate.
Air travel significantly contributes to climate changing gases and is also the fastest rising source of such emissions.
To tackle air pollution in West London.

In West London we are particularly concerned about air pollution.
In the White Paper published in December 2003 a third runway at Heathrow has been put on hold pending concerns about air pollution levels in the area exceeding the legal limit laid down by the EU.
If the air pollution problems can be sorted out a third runway at Heathrow would be opened by 2015/2020.
It is likely that air pollution levels are already close to the EU limits which come into force in 2009.
The pollution comes from aircraft, car traffic in West London and operations at the airport. Over the next 20 years BAA will be cleaning up its airport operations and planes using Heathrow are likely to become about 20% cleaner, but to satisfy the EU requirements aircraft emissions would need to fall by 40% or draconian measures would be required to cut traffic levels in the area.
The current widening of the M25 in the Heathrow area will not help air pollution in West London.

Other important issues are:

The environmental impacts on wildlife habitats, biodiversity, Green Belt and other open land of more flights and more traffic in and out of airports;
Exploring the potential of high-speed rail as an alternative to short-haul flights
A complete ban on night flights between the hours of 23.00 and 07.00
Ensuring the continuation of runway alternation
Public safety and health for passengers, residents who live under the flight paths, and air traffic controllers

For more information contact Simon Tompsett 020 8614 1923

Richmond and Twickenham Friends of the Earth

Local Issues

Aviation and Air Pollution

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