Climate Emergency; why Leeds Bradford Airport decision is defining test – Alex Sobel

It has shown us that despite our organised Western existence, we are vulnerable to extra-societal forces of nature that has the power to grind our way of life to a halt.

It is right that the current number one job of all politicians and experts should be to manage the fallout of the crisis and ensure public health in the here and now. We should however, have one eye on the next crisis and do everything in our power to halt it.

We must have a conversation about climate change and see it, not just as an existential and often academic discussion around ice caps and ozone layers, but as the next global public health crisis that will affect our lives in the years to come.

Sir David Attenborough laid this out in his recent documentary Extinction: The Facts, but I hope that the pandemic will make this a more visceral, relatable conversation.

Here in Leeds, that discussion must be had in relation to air travel and the upcoming deadline for submissions on the new terminal at Leeds Bradford Airport.

As the MP covering the airport and with many constituents who are employed there, this is not an easy position. After all, it is important for those people to feel that their employer is being respected and looked after by those they trust to represent them.

But the climate emergency is just that, an emergency – and in recognising it, as Leeds City Council have admirably done, means that we have to make difficult judgements and our airport cannot be exempt from this.

The United Nations aviation body forecasts that aeroplane emissions of carbon dioxide, which reached just over 900 million metric tonnes in 2018, will triple by 2050.

Bodies such as the International Council on Clean Transportation, has forecast that it could be as much as 1.5 times faster than that. Experts from the University of Leeds have shown that an expanded airport would mean that Leeds would fail its climate emergency targets, even if every other measure was to be successful.

Our air quality, which in normal circumstances is in breach of the UK and EU guidelines, let alone the World Health Organisation target to which we should aspire would be detrimentally affected. Air pollution is the fourth highest killer worldwide.

The airport argue that this is not about expansion, but their own application includes a passage that clearly suggests an increase in passenger numbers would be enabled by the development.

Under the original planning regulations, speculation as to the future business impact of a building was not a consideration, that said, under Leeds City Council’s climate emergency policy, it would not be reasonable to separate the fabric of the building from its intended future use.

Indeed, in the recent planning decisions regarding expansion of Bristol and Stansted Airports as well as the ruling on Heathrow’s third runway, the climate emergency was a key driver behind the decision to reject those applications.

The pandemic has seen a major shrinkage in the sector. In the current context therefore, expansion does not seem from the outside to be a viable business model.

If this was to go ahead, and the financial projections to pay for the building weren’t reached, I would worry for the future economic stability of 
Leeds Bradford Airport, and the impact on staff.

This is also not about stopping people from flying. I know that there are many families that save for years to go abroad on holiday and I have no desire from preventing them to do so. Indeed, I wrote last year about a model that would inhibit frequent flyers but allow for more family holidays. Nor is this about having an acrimonious relationship with the airport. There are several areas where we can and have worked together. I want a thriving LBA, but not one that unnecessarily increases pollution.

Climate change is not going away and it will become more and more relevant in our lives. The climate emergency must be infused into all policy-making and we can no longer shy away from the tough decisions.

Alex Sobel is Labour MP for Leeds North West and Shadow Tourism Minister.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson