17th May 2007

Cllr Philip Booth writes letters to local press in response to news that Staverton does plan to expand.

1. Letter to Western Daily Press

You report that after repeated denials Gloucestershire Airport has now confirmed their plans for a massive expansion of Euro flights (16/05/07).

Aircraft are among the most CO2 intensive methods of travel and CO2 emitted at altitude increases global warming  by up to a factor of four. Gloucestershire Councils are signed up to cut emissions. Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City  who own this airport and Tewkesbury District who will view the Planning Applications, will have no option but to stop this expansion from taking place.

Uttlesford District Council rejected Stansted airport expansion citing that the effects of climate change caused by the expansion will harm the economy. North Somerset has expressed serious concerns over Bristols' expansion plans. Why should airports be allowed to increase CO2 emissions, when every other business is being told to cut theirs significantly (i)?

The proportion of lower income households who fly has shrunk since 2000 despite prices falling. The majority of airport expansion will benefit those from higher paid social groups or corporations, yet the people who are being hit first and will be hit hardest by climate change are among the poorest on earth.


Trains are capable of travelling at 300kph and are 19 times more carbon efficient than planes. 70% of EU flights are under 1000km and it is clear we should instead be expanding a fast rail network not yet more damaging air travel. Taking climate change seriously means no airport expansions.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

2. Letter to The Citizen and Echo

You report that after repeated denials Gloucestershire Airport has now confirmed their plans for a massive expansion of Euro flights (15/05/07). Indeed when I, and others, have written letters and demonstrated outside the airport about flight increases our views have been dismissed by the Airport in this paper. Even when the Airport's Business Plan was 'mistakenly' released, expansion plans were denied.

Aircraft are among the most CO2 intensive methods of travel and CO2 emitted at altitude increases global warming  by up to a factor of four. Our local Councils are signed up to cut emissions. Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City  who own this airport and Tewkesbury District who will view the Planning Applications, will have no option but to stop this expansion from taking place.

Uttlesford District Council rejected Stansted airport expansion citing that the effects of climate change caused by the expansion will harm the economy. Staverton is much smaller but why should it be allowed to increase its CO2 emissions, when every other business in Gloucestershire is being told to cut theirs significantly (i)?

Staverton is about serving corporations and the wealthy, yet the people who are being hit first and will be hit hardest by climate change are among the poorest on earth.

Trains are capable of travelling at 300kph and are 19 times more carbon efficient than planes. 70% of EU flights are under 1000km and it is clear we should instead be expanding a fast rail network not yet more damaging air travel. We must start to take climate change seriously for ourselves and future generations.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.


Notes:

(i) The Environmental Audit Committee wrote recently of airport expansions, that: "even under the Government’s own and most optimistic projections, every other sector of the economy would have to cut its share of UK emissions, while that of aviation would be assisted to almost quintuple (to 24% of total UK emissions given a best case scenario).”