Extinction Rebellion protesters gathered outside Farnborough Airport in opposition of expansion plans. Plans to increase the number of mainly private planes using the airport could be decided this autumn.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We're here at Farnborough Airport with Extinction Rebellion and people from other groups as well,
00:04such as Farnborough Noise Group, I belong to Alton Climate Action Network, the Quakers,
00:10Friends of the Earth, and we're protesting against the expansion of Farnborough Airport.
00:15Quite frankly, we're protesting that they're here at all, but let's just try to stop the expansion.
00:20We've had the okay go-ahead from the government to expand Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton,
00:25which is insanity, considering the ecological and climate crisis that we're facing.
00:31It's insanity.
00:32And they want to expand this airport, which is for private jets.
00:35And for me, this is the lowest of the low and the worst of the worst.
00:38These are people flying away for the weekend to go skiing.
00:46The airport, a couple of years ago, wanted to double the number of flights, so there was a consultation.
00:52The planning application's been delayed a few times, and at the moment it's on hold,
00:57probably going to be decided in August or September this year.
01:06If we're not going to face the catastrophe of climate collapse, this is one of the first things that can be got rid of.
01:13I mean, it's so unequal for 1% of people to be flying around emitting so much more carbon than anyone else.
01:23The jet zero strategy is being challenged in court, and there was a demonstration in London last week,
01:35because there was a hearing at the Royal Court of Justice, challenging the legality of the jet zero strategy.
01:43And the reason it's been challenged is because it's not considering the full environmental impact of aviation.
01:51And it's also proposing to use things like sustainable aviation fuel, SAF, as a solution,
01:57which isn't a viable way of addressing aviation's emissions.
02:01SAF is really a sort of marketing ploy by the aviation industry and the fuel industry to keep burning fossil fuels.
02:09There isn't enough source material to make sustainable aviation fuel,
02:13and SAF produces as much emissions as fossil fuel, jet fuel.
02:18So it's a complete misnomer to suggest that SAF is going to make flying green.
02:24The only way to reduce aviation's emissions is to fly less.
02:33I think people cannot accept that we need to alter our lifestyles.
02:37I think the government is afraid to say that.
02:40It's like the bogeyman in the room.
02:43But I think we do have to alter our lifestyles.
02:46We can't go on.
02:47It's not business as usual.
02:48It's always quite fun to come to an Extinction Rebellion protest as well.
03:01It's a relatively small one today, but we just don't want to let up on them.
03:04We just don't want to let them have a free pass and think that we've forgotten about them.
03:09So we're here at Farnborough Airport, and basically private jets should be banned.