Why Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening is problematic for the environment - Yorkshire Post Letters

Mark Chadwick makes a number of points (The Yorkshire Post, August 22) seeking to counter my opinion piece about Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s likely climate impacts and prospects.

A key one to address is whether DSA is a problem for climate change, whilst other airports are expanding.

Aircraft cause very high emissions wherever they fly from. We are opposed to airport expansion during a climate crisis. As a regional group, our main focus is opposing the re-opening going on here.

Of course all airports have their individual merits and issues. The main reasons why those in the South East are expanding – or seeking to – are that is where the highest unmet demands for flights is and there is private money available for those expansions. The Government is supporting them because in theory, they should bring economic growth. But its claims that technologies are likely to be developed to enable the resulting emissions to be brought into line with climate aims are becoming increasingly ridiculous.

Our politicians need to act on the reality that any economic benefits from more flights are more than outweighed by the damage and disruption their emissions will lead to. Any fair solution must unavoidably involve the aviation industry meeting the costs both of lower carbon fuels and compensating for the environmental damage of remaining emissions. All airports will ultimately have to cope with these or close and DSA will be in a much poorer position than most.

Meanwhile, South Yorkshire could be investing more in sustainable transport, farming, flood defences and many other areas which would improve sustainability whilst complementing, rather than competing with investments in other regions.