Climate campaigners win UK court challenge to block Heathrow expansion

The court said the government that had approved the extension had failed to take into account the Paris Agreement to limit global warming

Before the ruling, building of the third runway had been expected to start in 2022 and take four years

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Campaigners against Heathrow expansion celebrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:54pm, 27 Feb 2020Updated: 8:54pm, 27 Feb 2020

Britain’s Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled in favour of green campaigners who oppose the building of a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest.

The court said the UK government – which in 2018 approved the Heathrow extension – had failed to take into account its commitments to the Paris Agreement to limit climate warming.

The legal action against the approval was brought by various London councils, environmental groups including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. They lost at an original hearing in May.

In a summary, judge Keith Lindblom said the Conservative government under then-prime minister Theresa May gave no explanation of how it took into account the 2015 Paris accord – which seeks to cap climate warming to less than two degrees Celsius.

“The Paris Agreement ought to have been taken into account … and an explanation given as to how it was taken into account, but it was not,” Lord Justice Lindblom said.

The judge added that the government did not oppose its declaration – and had not sought permission to appeal to London’s Supreme Court.

Britain's Court of Appeal ruled in favour of green campaigners who oppose a third runway at London's Heathrow airport. Photo: AFP