In this episode of One Book at a Time, University of Manchester academic Jenna Ashton speaks to Celeste Hicks, former journalist and the author of Expansion rebellion: Using the law to fight a runway and save the planet, and they ask: how can a government stay within its own climate targets while welcoming a further 700 planes a day into its airspace?
This is a story of hope in the face of widespread consternation over the global climate crisis. For many people concerned about global warming, the 2018 vote by UK parliamentarians to proceed with the plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport was a devastating blow. Aviation was predicted to make up some 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050 and so the decision seemed to fly in the face of the UK’s commitment to be a climate leader. One legal case sought to fight the expansion. Campaigning lawyers argued that plans for a third runway at one of the world’s busiest airports would jeopardise the UK’s ability to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. This book traces the dramatic story of how the case was prepared – and why international aviation has for so long avoided meaningful limits on its expansion.
This is an episode of โOne Book at a Time,โ the Manchester University Press podcast. Time to slow down, consider the issues, learn the histories, exercise your brain in the open air of considered arguments and frontline thinking – and help us change the world one book at a time.
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