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The Supreme Court overturned a February ruling that a third runway at Heathrow Airport was illegal. It means that the project can now apply for planning permission, but the final completion of the track remains uncertain.
The Supreme Court ruling marks the latest turn in years of legal and political disputes over the climate impact and economic benefits of the airport expansion. The February decision was considered historic by environmental activists as it was the world’s first significant decision based on the Paris climate agreement, and related cases were subsequently brought against plans to build more roads and gas-fired power plants in the United Kingdom.
The appeals court ruled that the government’s approval of the runway was illegal because ministers failed to heed UK commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which requires keeping the global temperature rise as low as possible. near 1.5 ° C possible. But following arguments from Heathrow’s lawyers, the supreme court ruled that this was not necessary and overturned the sentence.
The ruling means the airport can now apply for a development consent order, a type of planning permit for infrastructure of national importance. This can be difficult as it will take into account the stricter commitments to reduce emissions recently made by the UK government, which had accepted the February decision.
Since the track was approved in 2018, the UK has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 and on 4 December committed to reducing carbon emissions by 68% by 2030. The climate crisis is worsening as the CO2 levels continue to increase in the atmosphere and internationally. The focus is on UK actions as it will host a critical UN climate summit in November next year in Glasgow.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Heathrow was one of the busiest airports in the world, handling 80 million passengers a year. The 14 billion-pound third runway would bring 700 more planes a day and a huge increase in carbon emissions. However, Covid-19 travel restrictions have devastated aviation and Heathrow has said the runway could be delayed five years, having previously set 2028 as the completion date. Other observers said the third clue might not be necessary now.
“I still don’t think the third runway is going to be done,” said Tim Crosland, a Plan B attorney, who filed the legal case against Heathrow. “The really harmful [about the supreme court ruling] it is the precedent for the other cases ”. He said the appeal court’s decision that the UK’s Paris agreement commitments should be considered had been a “really strong lever” in legal arguments against high-carbon infrastructure.
Crosland said it was considering an appeal to the European court for human rights, an option that is not affected by Brexit. The verdict was under judicial embargo until Wednesday morning, but Crosland tweeted it Tuesday as “an act of civil disobedience,” risking contempt of court. “I had no choice but to protest the profound immorality of the court’s ruling,” he said.
The supreme court also struck down a parallel Friends of the Earth case. Will Rundle, Friends of the Earth’s chief legal officer, said: “We are disappointed, but pleased that [the judgment] confirms our view that climate impacts have yet to be fully determined in planning. Heathrow Airport expansion remains questionable and more difficult than ever, given the [UK’s] increasingly strict climate policy “.
“We are in this for people everywhere facing climate breakdown right now, and for the next generation left behind to inherit a world changed for the worse,” Rundle said.
“Approving Heathrow’s third runway is a betrayal of our children’s future and incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments,” said Magdalena Heuwieser of the Stay Grounded campaign. “We condemn the reckless and irresponsible verdict. But this fight is far from over. “
Parmjit Dhanda of the Back Heathrow campaign group said: “This is an important time for local communities desperate for jobs and learning at a very difficult time for our economy. It’s also a great time for the UK as it moves towards an uncertain Brexit, but now with confidence that international trade could be boosted by additional capacity at the country’s only central airport. Together with our supporters at the CBI, the TUC, it is an opportunity to progress, while meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets for 2050 ”.
Most flights from the UK are taken for pleasure and only 20% of the UK population takes more than two-thirds of international flights. Critics also say the economic benefits are illusory given, for example, the estimated £ 10bn of taxpayer money needed to alter road and rail connections to the airport, and that it will attract investment to the southeast.
Heathrow airport officials have been contacted for comment.
The government approved the third track in 2018, obtaining a large parliamentary majority. However, ministers said in February that they accepted the appeal court’s ruling that it was illegal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has opposed the runway, saying in 2015 that he would “stand in front of those bulldozers and stop construction.”
Last week, the Climate Change Committee, the government’s official advisers, said there should be no expansion of the airport unless emissions from flights could be reduced to compensate.
