The UK Climate Change Committee has warned that Heathrow’s proposed expansion cannot fit within the country’s climate targets unless airlines take full responsibility for aviation emissions by 2050. In advice published on Wednesday at the government’s request, the committee said ministers should legislate for the aviation industry to pay for deep cuts and removals, with the issue now feeding directly into the Heathrow decision process.
The committee’s central recommendation is a 25-year net-zero aviation strategy that would place the cost of decarbonisation on airlines rather than passengers or the wider economy. It said the sector must rely on a mix of sustainable aviation fuel and engineered carbon removals to reach the target. Heathrow, which accounts for about half of UK aviation emissions, sits at the centre of the dispute because the planned third runway would increase the challenge of meeting the UK’s legally binding 2050 net-zero goal.
The committee also highlighted that aviation emissions have more than doubled since 1990, while emissions across the wider UK economy have fallen. Its advice stops short of approving or rejecting Heathrow expansion, but it tightens the policy conditions around any future consent and reinforces pressure on the government to set a clearer emissions framework for the sector.