Here’s what they say in an alert sent out today
What does this ruling mean?
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Heathrow development can’t go ahead as planned. It does not comply with or support the UK’s targets to reduce emissions and move towards a sustainable future. The government will accept the court’s decision.
Wow. Let’s stop for a moment and take in this epic historical moment. Business as usual has no future here on this planet.
And, if making an LHR third runway basically illegal weren’t enough, this ruling could have some pretty dramatic ripple effects in our favour.
A case like this could mean that the law starts ruling to protect British citizens from the (as we well know) life-threatening effects of climate and ecological breakdown.
In future decisions about whether high-carbon projects should be given the green light of legality, courts will have to take Paris Agreement commitments into account in a serious way.
If a project can be shown to jeopardise the UK’s chances of reaching our ‘net-zero by 2050’ target or the Paris agreement to keep warming to under 1.5 degrees, it could be deemed illegal.
The UK Guardian’s headline says…
Heathrow third runway ruled illegal over climate change
Appeal court says decision to give go-ahead not consistent with Paris agreement
Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport have been ruled illegal by the court of appeal because ministers did not adequately take into account the government’s commitments to tackle the climate crisis.
The ruling is a major blow to the project at a time when public concern about the climate emergency is rising fast and the government has set a target in law of net zero emissions by 2050. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, could use the ruling to abandon the project, or the government could draw up a new policy document to approve the runway.
The government is considering its next steps but will not appeal against the verdict. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Our manifesto makes clear any Heathrow expansion will be industry-led. Airport expansion is core to boosting global connectivity and levelling up across the UK. We also take seriously our commitment to the environment.”
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