Image source, Getty Images By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent Published 3 hours ago Heathrow's third runway cannot be approved without changes to current climate policies, the government's advisers have said. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) , external said expansion can still go ahead but only if the aviation industry funds cleaner fuels and pays for machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Making the industry pay could push up the cost of flying with a return trip to Alicante costing around 150 more by 2050, and a return to New York up 400 in today's prices, it said. Once built, the expanded airport would produce more carbon dioxide than any other single sector of the economy by 2050. Heathrow said expansion and climate goals were "not a choice" and it would deliver both. "Our advice today is clear - Heathrow expansion is not currently compatible with the UK's Net Zero target," said Nigel Topping, the CCC chair. "Government needs to ensure that the aviation industry takes responsibility for the emissions it creates and bears the costs of decarbonisation. Those conditions do not exist today." The CCC report cannot block a new runway but it wants the government to pass legislation pushing responsibility for the long-term clean-up of aviation onto the industry. The government would "carefully consider" the advice alongside other responses to its consultation according to the Department for Transport (DfT). The government has an ongoing consultation which aims to judge any expansion against four tests - economy, climate, air quality and noise. It does not approve a runway - that will come in a Commons vote expected later this year. The 33bn project would raise Heathrow's capacity to 150 million passengers a year - up from 85 million. A DfT spokesperson said any expansion would need to align with the country's climate targets, but added it "could deliver around 40bn to the economy and support up to 60,000 local jobs". Technologies to cut emissions not at scale The CCC has said carbon-removal machines must be deployed to cut more than a third of the emissions by 2050. But almost none of that technology currently exists at scale, and the committee says credible plans exist for just 1% of these engineered removals needed by the late 2030s. The committee argued making the industry rather than the government bear the costs of clean up was the fairest way of cutting carbon. It believes the extra investment needed would likely be passed on to passengers but would be modest if spread over time. Phased across 25 years, the cost of a flight to Alicante would rise by a few pounds a year - "less than a cup of coffee each way", Topping said. Heathrow expansion an 'outdated' risk, mayor says Published 3 September What's the plan for a third runway at Heathrow Airport? Published 30 January 2025 However, the airline industry rejected the committee's approach. Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said carriers backed the government's target of net...
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