Labour's airport ambitions won't chart a path to green growth

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced they are “minded to approve” an additional 100,000 flights at Gatwick .

This could add a million tonnes of emissions per year to the UK ’s straining carbon budgets.

For airport expansion to deliver the growth that is claimed, the new flights must be predominantly business flights and inward tourism.

While ministers chase the phantom of economic growth via polluting, high-carbon projects, we miss vital opportunities to get to grips with the climate crisis while also boosting the economy. This article was originally published as an edition of the Green Transition , New Statesman Spotlight’s weekly newsletter on the economics of net zero . To see more editions and subscribe, click here..