Our airport – our emissions
ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has called for a hard look at the planned Canberra airport expansion, in the light of the Australia Institute’s study Aviation and Green House Gas Emissions in the ACT released Saturday.
“The airport group is aiming to increase commercial flights in and out of the Canberra Airport to 700 a day. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from that airport traffic alone would be more than twice the planned total emissions for the ACT” Dr Foskey said today.
“One way to deal with it is to simply ignore aviation emissions all together. Our greenhouse accounting would then balance, but the problem for the world would get worse.”
“Without incorporating aviation emissions, the ACT Government’s Greenhouse Gas/Climate Change Strategy is just hot air.”
“I suggest that the Canberra Airport’s proposed expansion is subjected to a rigorous greenhouse gas assessment, and aircraft emissions are included in the ACT’s accounts.”
“If we are to do our bit in facing up to climate change we can’t just approve all economic development without accepting responsibility for the consequences.”
“Now that all Governments in Australia appear to acknowledge the challenge of climate change I call on the ACT Government to pursue a national approach to aircraft emissions.”
“Whether that approach is to impose carbon taxes on the industry and/or tougher efficiency standards this needs to be decided at that national level.”
“Certainly the ACT can’t just pretend that these emissions are someone else’s problem”, Dr Foskey said.
