Wera Welcomes Rejection of Bristol Airport Expansion

14 February 2020

On 10th February, councillors in neighbouring North Somerset voted against the controversial expansion of Bristol Airport on the basis that the environmental and societal impacts outweighed the economic benefits.

Wera said: “The Bristol Airport decision is key in our fight to address the Climate Emergency and the decision taken by North Somerset’s Planning Committee is an important statement of intent.”

“Aviation is one of the sectors in which we do not have any solutions on how to get to net zero. Unless we find an alternative to jet fuel we cannot allow the industry to grow without check and undermine our global efforts to stop irreversible climate chaos.

“It is very important that we keep up the pressure on the industry to change and find alternatives to jet fuel as soon as possible. This requires a huge amount of investment and currently the aviation industry is in no hurry to change. However, business as usual is not an option and the decision to halt the expansion of Bristol Airport shows exactly that.

“I'm proud of the leadership shown in this debate by Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency on Bath and North East Somerset Council, and grateful to her for representing us all at the hearing.”