UK: Justice rejects Heathrow airport extension request

The judgment of the court of appeal fell this Thursday February 27, the extension of the airport of Heathrow in London was rejected for environmental reasons. REUTERS / Eddie Keogh

Text by: RFI Follow

In the United Kingdom, a court of appeal judgment rejected the extension of London's Heathrow airport for environmental reasons. It is the first time that a judgment has been rendered based on the Paris Climate Agreements.

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" We won, " said London mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter. Almost two years after the vote for the extension of Heathrow airport, the project is blocked by the Court of Appeal, because the Conservative government did not respect the Paris Agreements in its preparation for the project.

BREAKING: We won! Today we blocked the Tory government plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Today's judgment is a major victory for all Londoners who are passionate about tackling the climate emergency and cleaning up our air. https://t.co/59MEn2X6Lw

Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) February 27, 2020

With 700 additional flights, the construction of a third runway in the busiest airport in the United Kingdom would not meet the environmental standards signed in Paris in 2015, to reduce global warming by 2 to 1.5 degrees.

A criticized project

Since the start of the project, this expansion has been widely criticized by environmental associations. Boris Johnson had even said in 2015 that he "would lie in front of the bulldozers to prevent construction ". But his promise has faded over the course of his political ascent.

In 2018, during the deputies' vote on the project, the former foreign minister did not vote because of travel to Afghanistan. Despite this setback, the project has not been abandoned. If the latter is modified in compliance with these environmental standards, construction could still take place.

Boris Johnson still has the opportunity to show his commitment and abandon the project, even as the country is organizing COP26 next November in Glasgow.

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  • UK
  • Justice
  • Environment
  • Aerospace

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