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change”.
He has called on them to call-in for a full debate the council executive board's decision to approve the expansion plans for Liverpool
airport, and also to turn down plans for a new link road towards the Speke-Widnes road at Halewood.
Cllr Coyne said he is making his stand – for the
sake of the climate and future generations.
In a message to councillors, he said: “With the executive board approving the Liverpool airport master
plan, and cheering on the explosive growth in cheap air travel from Liverpool, I have to ask if we are taking the right course.
“Climate-changing
emissions from aircraft are the fastest-growing and the most potent source of global warming.
“Carbon emissions, globally, need to contract. And
across the planet we need to reduce the inequality between the pollution caused by the lifestyles of the rich and poor.
“To be credible, the new aim
of the city council to be ‘the greenest city in Europe’ requires us to take climate change seriously.
“Therefore, we should reject the demand for a
new link road, for more car parking and for expanded air freight at the airport.
“Instead, we should plan for air travel to peak in 2008 and slowly
contract after that.
“To base the city's regeneration plans on ever-expanding cheap air travel would be about as prudent and morally justifiable as
to bet our future on jobs in the tobacco industry.
“This year and next year, nobody will blame a family which takes a cheap flight to Tenerife when
it's too dear to take the train to Torquay. But even air travellers know that the politicians need to act to put the protection of the climate above the
demands of fancy new holiday habits. Air travel has to shrink and it has to cost more.
“No other city is becoming so dependent on the expansion of a
cheap air transport bubble and Liverpool would be cruelly exposed when that bubble bursts. The motto ‘Above us only sky’ could literally describe an airfield
deserted by planes.”
Labour leader Cllr Joe Anderson rejected Cllr Coyne’s call. He said: “We cannot support his stance. The airport is a key economic
driver for the city and I want us to encourage the airport to grow. The issues raised by Cllr Coyne need to be looked at from a national or global
perspective, but expecting us to turn our backs on regeneration would just see competitors such as Manchester reaping the
rewards.”
larryneild@dailypost.co.uk
Source:
icLiverpool
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