UK Court of Appeal blocks plan for third runway at Heathrow Airport News
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UK Court of Appeal blocks plan for third runway at Heathrow Airport

Plans for a third runway at Europe’s largest airport were blocked by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

The $18 billion plan for a third runway at Heathrow airport was set to permit an additional 260,000 flights per year, the Department for Transportation argued. They further said that the project would boost the British economy, especially post-Brexit, as it would increase the demand for travel and international trade.

However, Friends of the Earth, who challenged the development, argued that another runway would increase carbon emissions and air pollution, going against the aims of the 2016 Paris agreement, to which the UK is a signatory.

Despite overwhelming support for the airport expansion in government, the court of the appeal ruled against the plan. The court found the Heathrow project would undermine the commitments of the Paris agreement, which was set to limit temperature to a 1.5 C increase. The court requested that the government review their obligations under the Paris agreement and other international obligations.

The Court of Appeal judgment has been met with mixed reactions. Campaigners supported the decision, including the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. However, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said that the decision would be challenged at the Supreme Court, claiming that the Court of Appeal “got it wrong.”