Committee publication · Report · 24 October 2025 · HC 831
5th Report - Airport expansion and climate and nature targets
From: Environmental Audit Committee
Inquiry: Airport expansion and climate and nature targets
Government response deadline: 24 December 2025
Summary
The Environmental Audit Committee examines whether the UK Government can deliver airport expansion while meeting climate and nature targets. The report finds the Government supports expansion primarily for economic growth but lacks substantive evidence for this claim, and warns that aviation is already the slowest-decarbonising sector. It concludes the current planning framework is outdated and expansion poses significant risks to Net Zero 2050 targets, particularly given reliance on unproven mitigation measures like Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Key findings
- The Government has no substantial economic analysis supporting airport expansion's growth claims despite already approving expansion at Stansted, Luton, and Gatwick; the Aviation Minister could not quantify expected growth levels.
- Aviation emissions are projected to become the UK's largest polluter by 2040; the sector is already close to its emissions reduction limit and emissions increased in 2024.
- The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) from 2018 predates Net Zero legislation and Carbon Budget commitments, leaving policy gaps on climate and environmental impact assessment, yet multiple airport expansions are being approved under this outdated framework.
- Mitigation measures the Government relies on—Sustainable Aviation Fuel, efficiency gains, and emissions offsetting—each have inherent limitations that the Government has not factored in, creating substantial risk to Net Zero targets.
- The Government explicitly rejects demand management despite the Climate Change Committee identifying it as fundamental to achieving Net Zero; South East expansion may concentrate growth away from regional economies, with analysis showing 27,000 aviation jobs would relocate from regions to London and South East.
Recommendations
- Commission detailed research into net economic benefits of airport expansion before formal approval; clearly set out expected growth levels broken down by individual and cumulative airport expansions in timely fashion for scrutiny.
- Publish Government analysis of how London airport expansion will impact aviation and airport sectors in the rest of the UK and the economic growth level in wider regions before final decisions and significant delivery of approved expansions.
- Update the Airports National Policy Statement to explicitly account for Net Zero 2050, Carbon Budgets, the Jet Zero Strategy, and cumulative environmental impacts before Heathrow decision is taken; ensure strategic planning approach considers wider growth across the whole UK.
- Make Parliamentary time available to formally include the UK's share of international aviation emissions within Carbon Budgets and Net Zero targets, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee and accepted by the previous Government but not enacted.
- Set out how it will better connect existing public transport to airports to reduce emissions from cars and vehicles travelling to and from airports.
- Support and incentivise aircraft using technology that reduces damaging non-CO₂ pollutants around airports; develop approaches such as new flight paths and engine technology to reduce non-CO₂ emissions impact, leveraging UK leading academics and research centres.
Tone
CriticalTopics
aviation-emissionsairport-expansionnet-zero-targetsair-qualityeconomic-growth
Key actors
Environmental Audit Committee, Department for Transport, Mike Kane MP (Aviation Minister), Climate Change Committee, AirportsUK, Heathrow Airport, Planning Inspectorate, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Notable line
“Current government support for aviation expansion is incompatible with the UK's legally binding climate commitments.”
Key Quotes
“Carbon Budget , February 2025 4 close to the limit of its projected path to reach net zero and are increasing. If this increase in emissions continues, the sector will likely pose a risk to the UK's emissions targets.”
“Whilst the Government support for airport expansion has been largely based on its expectation of economic growth, the Government has been unable to direct the Committee to any evidence that supports its assertion.”
“Current government support for aviation expansion is incompatible with the UK's legally binding climate commitments.”
“Major airport expansion projects—including Gatwick, Heathrow, and Luton—are being advanced under an outdated policy regime. The ANPS was published before the UK's net-zero commitment and before the publication of the Sixth Carbon Budget.”
“The government has been clear that their support for airport expansions is based on the assumption that this will deliver economic benefits and grow the UK's economy. However, we suggest that not only has this case not been convincingly made, but that the counter- arguments demonstrating that airport expansion would be a net loss to the UK's economy are extremely strong.”
“… the Government is not supportive of demand management, a measure that the Climate Change Committee highlighted as fundamental to the UK delivering on its Net Zero target.”
“We are concerned that airport expansion plans will have been produced prior to the publication of a new ANPS which ought to be in place to provide the airports with strategic guidance.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗