9th October 2007

The Lib Dems support for a zero-carbon Britain by 2050 has usefully raised the stakes in the other parties' policy poker of outbidding each other over climate change targets (Citizen 24/09/07). However, while the 'grey' parties have made climate change one of their current issues, I remain totally under-whelmed at their lack of proposals or commitment to the issue.

This is reflected in their silence, or worse - support for, expansion of emissions from Staverton Airport and proposals of increasing road infrastructure around the airport. In the modern parlance this is a 'no-brainer'. The failure of any of Gloucestershire's elected representatives, except Green councillors and David Drew of Stroud (who has come out against the airports expansion) to take any real leadership on climate change threats is the biggest failure of our age.

Martin Horwood MP (LibDem - Cheltenham) for example has a website(1) talking about multi-national agreements on aviation pollution and stopping planes flying half empty, yet he is silent on Staverton. Our own city MP, Palmjit Dhanda' (Labour) website is silent on climate change.

This lack of leadership is shocking. Not only is there scientific consensus on climate change, but in 2004 the County-wide Air Quality Strategy for Gloucestershire was published. This also makes clear that any expansion of Staverton and accompanying road infrastructure would '...impact upon efforts to improve upon, or maintain good, air quality.' (2)  This is the air we have to breath and few outside the Green Party have anything positive to say.In this year of extraordinary weather impacts on the county it is surely time that our elected representatives lead on this issue and start by stopping any expansion of emissions at Staverton.

Bryan Meloy

Gloucester Green Party

St Paul's Road

NOTES:

(1) *Extract from Martin Horwood website - transport page:
http://www.cheltlibdems.co.uk/policies.htm
To encourage fewer, more fuel-efficient aircraft, we’d press for multi-national agreement on aviation pollution and implement charges per aircraft rather than per passenger to discourage half-empty flights.

(2)A County-wide Air Quality Strategy for Gloucestershire. 2004* Para 3.2.3 Aviation development in the County As mentioned previously, the growth in air traffic has the potential to impact upon efforts to improve upon, or maintain good, air quality. Any increase in the number of air traffic movements leads to both an increase in aircraft emissions and ground vehicle emissions associated with an airport, such as service vehicles and passenger vehicles... ...All local authorities within the County will need to monitor any expansion and further development of the airport for any potential risk of failing to meet an air quality objective at the nearest receptors to the airport. This is also true for the road network feeding the airport, which may experience increases in traffic volumes with any expansion.