There’s something bitterly ironic about a government claiming to take the climate crisis seriously while backing the expansion of Heathrow Airport — a project that will release an estimated 4.4 million tonnes of CO₂ every year.
As a Green politician you’d expect me to make this point: that’s it’s an obvious environmental disaster in the making. But it’s also a project that’s deeply unjust — one that will benefit the rich while further burdening those already paying the highest price for climate inaction.
You cannot understand the absurdity of Heathrow expansion unless you truly grasp its impact on both people and planet. Labour seems oblivious to both.
It's important people know this isn’t about giving ordinary families the freedom to travel. This is about enabling a small, privileged elite to fly more and more. In the UK, less than 3% of people take 30% of all flights.
Less than 3% of the population take 30% of all flights
These are the ultras in the frequent flyers community who already benefit from the vast majority of tax breaks on aviation fuel, airport expansion and infrastructure subsidies — all while the rest of us are told to tighten our belts and take shorter showers to "do our bit" for the planet and to save a few quid on our electricity bills.
Meanwhile, the communities living around Heathrow — many of them working-class, and often from marginalised or racialised backgrounds — are left literally breathing in the consequences.
The communities around Heathrow are left literally breathing in the consequences
More noise, more air pollution and more disruption to their lives, all in the name of profit for Heathrow shareholders and global aviation giants.
This is what environmental injustice looks like. But it’s also social injustice.
If we’re serious about tackling the climate emergency, we must stop treating carbon-intensive industries like aviation as untouchable. No credible net-zero plan can include rampant airport expansion.
Any government, blue or red, that tells you otherwise is simply lying to you. So how does this fit in with Labour’s rhetoric around environmental and social justice? Well, it shows that they are willing to drop them both at the altar of economic growth.
There are many, many better ways to create high-quality, well-paid jobs: in public transport, renewables, green home retrofitting, nature restoration. Jobs that serve the public good, reduce inequality and safeguard our future — not just the dividends of a select few. Instead, they are choosing to expand Heathrow.
And this political choice tells us everything about who this government is choosing to prioritise. It isn’t you. It’s not the communities living around Heathrow. And it certainly isn’t the planet. It’s shareholders and those ultra frequent flyers.
It’s time we grounded these plans for good — and built an economy that flies on fairness, not fossil fuels. But this is only possible if we start from the simple fact that there can be no social justice without environmental justice and vice versa.
As Heathrow shows – they go hand in hand.
Zack Polanski is Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and a member of the London Assembly.
