'Reopening an airport is a very bad idea during a climate emergency' - Reader's letter

A City of Doncaster Council (CDC) meeting on Monday will vote on whether to rescind a loan to support the airport’s reopening, due to Reform UK councillors’ financial concerns.

What has got lost is any genuinely objective discussion about the impact the airport will have on the region’s efforts to address the climate emergency.

DSA is intended to be a sustainable aviation hub, attracting businesses around it to develop technologies, such as lighter aircraft materials and ‘sustainable aviation fuels’. But that can only achieve so much.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has set a net-zero target date of 2040 for the region, with an all-time ‘carbon budget’ with it. It is likely to use it up before 2030.

DSA is predicted to first make a profit in the mid 2030s. By this time, the emissions from DSA’s flights will be a very substantial proportion of those of the entire regional economy.

The earlier our politicians realise that reopening an airport is a very bad idea during a climate emergency, the better the long term prospects of a safer world

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