We hear this week that airport operator BAA’s appeal to the Competition Commission against their decision that the operator must sell off some of their airports has been upheld. Concerns about the ‘apparent bias’ of one member of the panel has thrown the Committee into ‘disarray’ and means that BAA’s appeal against the Committee’s decision was won… on a technicality.
As we posted in our blog last year, the Office of Fair Trading referred its investigation into the supply of airport services in the UK to the Competition Commission in March 2007, after Spanish group Ferrovial bought BAA. The watchdog’s ensuing report called on the company to offload Stansted and Gatwick to different buyers, as well as sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh after finding that BAA’s ownership of a number of airports “gives rise to adverse effects on competition”. The airports had to be sold within 2 years of the report’s publication otherwise an independent group would be called in to sell off for them. The sale of Gatwick was agreed in October for £1. 51bn, making little dent in the company’s debt which this summer was creeping towards £10bn.
BAA may well be pleased about the outcome of their appeal. But it is surely a narrow victory for them. The Inquiry made no judgment on whether the Commission’s findings that threatened to shatter the airport owner’s monopoly were correct or not. BAA’s argument that two years was not enough time to complete the sell off of some of their airports was, however, dismissed. This decision essentially postpones the original ruling and BAA and the Commission must return to the table once more to thrash out the competition charge. Could this, as some in the media are suggesting, give BAA a last chance to fight back?
We have supported SSE's fight from the start
As the farce continues to play out, we are still waiting to have our day in court at the beleaguered Public Inquiry into plans at Stansted for a second runway which threaten 6 ancient woodlands. In 2007 the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears MP, said that the Public Inquiry would be postponed until the Competition Commission announced its findings but BAA’s swift appeal once these were announced has tied up the process even further and at vast expense.
How this latest drama will impact on the Inquiry is anyone’s guess right now. John Denham MP, now holding the post vacated by Blears earlier this year, said in July that it was unfeasible to begin an Inquiry while the future ownership remained in question. Here at the Trust we can only wait to present our case for ancient woodland – with resource implications and financial costs to us mounting all the while – and watch while the merry-go-round spins on.
What are your views on aviation expansion in the UK? Share your thoughts and comments with us! You can also pass this on using the bookmark below.
The research commissioned from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is the latest in a long line of changing goalposts when it comes to the subject of airport expansion. The Committee, chaired by Lord Adair Turner, was asked to advise on options for reducing emissions below business as usual to meet the target and on the implications for aviation expansion in the 2020’s.
The UK Government has set a target for carbon dioxide emissions from UK aviation, both domestic and international, which requires them to be no higher than 2005 levels in 2050. In ‘Meeting the UK Aviation Target – Options for Reducing Emissions to 2050‘ the CCC identifies that if this target were to be achieved, aviation would account for around 25% of the UK’s total allowed emissions under the economy-wide 80% cut in 2050 relative to 1990 included in the Climate Change Act.
Demand for aviation has grown by 130% over the last 20 years according to the CCC, which projects that it could continue to grow by over 200% from the 2005 level by 2050. However, the CCC reckons that it is only prudent to plan on the basis that technological advances could make a 60% growth in demand compatible with the emissions target. According to the CCC, policy measures required to restrain demand include limits to further airport expansion.
Unremitting airport expansion threatens the natural world directly. We are still fighting to keep safe the 6 ancient woodlands threatened by Stansted.
Stansted's 2nd runway wipes out 6 ancient woodlands
And despite BAA’s pledge this month not to put plans for a third runway forward until after an election, we maintain a watchful eye at Heathrow - where notable and ancient trees at Sipson and Harlington would be threatened. News of Gatwick’s recent sale also means our Woods under Threat team remain on high alert!
The CCC report also raises the spectre that, unless other sectors make disproportionate cuts in emissions and demand for aviation is substantially restrained through limiting airport expansion, there will be severe consequences for climate change.
It’s implicit then that the 2003 Aviation White Paper, which set out the sites proposed for expansion, should be reviewed in light of this Report. While the CCC agree they say their remit is to make recommendations to Government based on different scenarios, it’s up to Government to decide on what action to then take. Reconsidering the AWP would certainly be a start.
What do you think about plans to expand aviation in the UK? Please share your comments, and pass this on!
In the final of our Wave blog series, here’s a “tree’s-eye” view from the front and a first hand account from our meeting with Ed Miliband before he left for Copenhagen.
Along with our coalition partners RSPB, Tearfund, Christian Aid, National Union of Students, Women’s Institute, Oxfam, the Wildlife Trusts and almost 100 other NGOs, the Stop Climate Chaos delegation lead the way to Parliament.
While our members and supporters walked with our trees on the Wave in London on December 5th, we were also represented right at the very front of the march!
Our trees were right at the front of the Wave
One of our trees shares the view from the other side:
“The amazing energy of the people behind us really kept up the pace on the march, they knew exactly what they wanted to say and they weren’t afraid to shout it out (ear-splittingly loud!). Lots of smiles from the Christmas shopping crowds as we passed through Mayfair and Picadilly, and a fair few tourists baffled by the sudden influx of blue (and in our case, leafy) hordes…
“Just when I was staring to feel a bit wilted and prickly inside my tree outfit, Big Ben reared up ahead of us. Come 3pm we were face to face with a wall of press cameras, and even though the politicians we wanted to speak to were no-where in sight yet we were on the tips of our roots, straining for our place in this little slice of history and trying to keep our wayward flag in shot as the rain started.
“After the grand WAVE finale at the Houses of Parliament we were whisked into a meeting hall where around 80 of us had been invited to speak with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband. There were some fantastic questions from the floor, Ed seemed genuinely open and is clearly a consummate professional but a couple of the students really had him on the spot! It was great to see so many organisations, who are justifiably passionate about our own causes, all looking at the big picture and the long term together. There just wasn’t time for everyone to get their own point of view across but we finally got our moment at the end of the session, when we personally met with Ed. He loved our outfits! and we made sure reforestation in the UK stayed on the agenda and left him clutching the Trust’s aspirations for the summit and the action needed ahead.
“I’m glad we kept our costumes on – he’ll remember talking with a couple of dishevelled trees when we meet again to discuss the outcomes from Copenhagen!”
The anticipation surrounding the most talked-about climate conference to date comes to a head this week, as the final round of UNFCCC talks open in Denmark.
Dr James Cooper talks to e-Politix
We have been talking to e-Politix, an online forum for MP’s and their advisors, researchers and the political community about what we want to see from Copenhagen. You can read the full interview with James Cooper, our Head of Government Affairs here.
Last weekend we were also in London and Glasgow to take part in mass demonstrations organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition. We were joined by our members and supporters and over 50,000 other people, who were all there to march in support of the UK taking leadership at Copenhagen. On the day of the march we met with Ed Miliband in Parliament afterwards giving him our call to action personally.
The Trust was there to show support for a good deal for forests everywhere, and to see the UK turn words into action at home as a result. You can still add your voice to our call to action – email Ed and Gordon Brown yourself today!
Our trees are looking forward to joining tens of thousands of people, from all walks of life, on Saturday 5th December on the streets of London and Glasgow in this peaceful, positive demonstration of support for a safe climate future from the Copenhagen talks…
Watch them prepare for the event by doing their own mini-Mexican wave!
Walk with our trees on the Wave and show your support for the UK Government in leading on an agreement for a strong deal for forests everywhere, and then taking action at home as a result…
… yes, that is a car park! Our trees chose this background to illustrate how bleak a world might look, if we can’t get proper protection agreed at Copenhagen - that wall’s the only green we might have in the future without more trees.
(Keep an eye out for more films between now and the 5th; this is number 2 in a series of 4!)
This peaceful, family-friendly demonstration has been organised on Saturday 5th December by the coalition Stop Climate Chaos, which the Trust is an active member.
Meet our trees!
Watch our short film and hear us talk about why we are going! Why not join us too?
(keep an eye out for more posts; this is number one of a series of 4!)
Yesterday we attended a keynote speech given by the Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague at the Green Alliance’s annual debate on the environment. Mr Hague outlined why he believes climate change is one of the two most pressing foreign policy challenges facing the UK, and crucially, how a future Conservative government would seek to work with the international community to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Ahead of the Copenhagen conference this speech was timely. Mr Hague’s commitment to preventing deforestation and increasing the incentives for protecting the rainforest was particularly welcome. The Trust has its own criteria by which it will be judging the success of the final agreement at Copenhagen and we ask that the final communiqué adopts the following actions:
• Absolute protection for all old growth forests from destruction
• No net loss of all forest area, including plantations
• Sustainable management of existing forests
• International trade in unsustainably-produced timber is made illegal
• A simple, long-term financial solution to make protecting forests more worthwhile than their destruction
Often wider international issues can provide a moment for reflecting on the success of conservation objectives at a national level. Regrettably the UK remains one of the least wooded regions in Europe; indeed new native woodland creation has virtually stopped whilst ancient woods – our equivalent to the rainforest – continue to be under threat from development.
This new wood near Stansted was planted only 5 years ago.
Thankfully the UK Government is seeking to redress some of these shortcomings and recognises the value of new woodland creation as shown by a recent report from the Forestry Commission, which was welcomed at its launch by the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn. Let us hope that the next Parliament continues to recognise the value of woods and trees by pressing for more expansive targets and better protection for ancient woods.
Last week I planted my very first tree. Some people assume that we spend all our time at the Woodland Trust tree planting and walking around beautiful woodlands, but unluckily for the Campaigning team we don’t get out as often as some of our other Trust colleagues so it’s taken me until now to get a chance to get my spade out!
And as an experience, what a first it was for me! Not only was I planting my first tree – such a moving experience and so easy to do – but I was doing it on behalf of a range of organisations concerned about airport expansion including RSPB, WWF and World Development Movement. In partnership with Greenpeace, in front of national media. In the pouring rain. With Richard Briers, Alison Steadman, CarolAnn Duffy, plus politicians of every hue and a whole community in tow. Definitely not my usual Friday!
I was at the Airplot - the strip of land right in the middle of Heathrow’s proposed third runway, which was bought last year by Greenpeace and is co-owned by over 60,000 other people around the world. This entire area was once home to orchards and famed for the Cox Orange Pippin apple. Today the ‘market garden’ for London is under tonnes of tarmac and concrete, the constant roar of aircraft in the air.
Why was the Trust there? Our fight against Stansted is well-known and one of our highest profile cases of woods under threat, where 6 ancient woodlands are at risk of being lost forever from proposals for a new runway. But when it comes to Heathrow, it is the very trees themselves which bring us to Sipson and the surrounding villages. You can read more about our concerns for the ancient and historically important trees that remain (for now) in the area.
The "magnificent" ancient Harlington Yew
The Woodland Trust joined Greenpeace as ‘the tree experts’ supporting their planting of a new orchard and providing a good mix of native hedging to encourage biodiversity and improve pollination. On the day, 13 trees of various types of apple species were planted to complement the allotment established on the site earlier in the year.
I spent an amazing day with Greenpeace at Airplot. There was a wonderful feeling of cameraderie throughout the whole event despite the weather. As we all huddled together under a small marquee (did I mention the rain?) sipping hand-squeezed apple juice fresh from local apples, we listened to local historian Philip Sherwood tell stories about the area as it once was. Then we were treated to a reading by Alison Steadman of a new poem by the Poet Laureate, CarolAnn Duffy, before heading out into the mud with our spades.
I realised the full scope of Heathrow’s plans as I talked to some of the locals from Sipson, Harlington and Harmondsworth. Their hopes that the plans can be defeated are tangible. These villages will all be flattened by BAA’s expansion, and their residents fear for their homes and communities in an uncertain future.
As for the trees that could be lost with them; who knows what secrets old masters like the great Sipson Oak hold? History remembers them being planted, generations have watched them grow. Who can imagine the thousands of species of fungi, plants and wildlife these trees can be host to?
The incredibly resilient Harlington Yew has stood firm for perhaps 1,000 years and continues to grow, even after being manipulated and clipped over the centuries; it was once damaged so badly by a gale that it was left as a stump only 12 feet high – yet as you can see in the photo above, it is still awe-inspiring today. The story of these villages can be epitomised by this beautiful old tree. They may be battered but their spirit will take much more to break.
Aviation is one of the world’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. Government and business plans for unremitting airport expansion threatens our natural world and increases the potential for long-term consequences of climate change.
We believe that trees and woods have a valuable role to play in addressing the issue of climate change, but only as part of the solution. We are backing community action to plant a twin tree in solidarity like local Greenpeace groups have been doing all over the country. You can take action too, and there’s no need to stop at one tree!
Together we can all make the UK – one of the least wooded countries in Europe – a place rich in native trees and woods, and show there are strong roots of resistance to the type of large-scale development the aviation industry has to offer.
We would like to send a big thank you to the 21 people who turned out on the 1st of November, a rather wet and windy Sunday for our Ancient Tree Hunt (ATH) Day. The going was slow, covering just a square kilometre between us – hampered by the sheer number of large trees to be found! We mapped 58 in total, a mix of Oak, Birch, Scots Pine and even a couple of Beech – is this a record haul? Hopefully our ATH colleagues can tell us. It could probably hold the record for the wettest Ancient Tree Hunt ever!
To help us confirm the age of the trees found by our intrepid hunters we commissioned dendrochronologist Coralie Mills to core some of the trees we found. Coring trees is much harder than it looks – so thanks to Colin who did much of the hard work! We now have to wait a few weeks for the results but they will be invaluable in helping us learn more about the woodland’s history. This will mean we can tie the trees with what we know of the land use of the area and the history of the neighbouring Black Wood of Rannoch.
A public meeting to discuss the proposed development at Dall took place on 19th of November, chaired by Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire. Over 100 people from Dall, Kinloch Rannoch and the surrounding areas came to hear and ask questions of the Dall Community Association, Loch Rannoch Conservation Association, Prof Gavin McCrone and DPP – the agents for the developer, Mr James.
It was great to see that the overwhelming view of those attending was that the development currently proposed for Dall and the surrounding woodlands was inappropriate. Most of the issues that concerned the local community seem to be the scale of the proposal, the environmental impact on both the woodland and loch and the access issues, both for locals and the visiting tourists.
It is days like this that really give us a boost when campaigning to protect ancient woodland. On Monday we found out that the appeal to extend the Margam open cast coal mine was dismissed by the Welsh Government and to be honest a little unexpected. Although we have been expecting this decision for some time there has been a strong track record of open cast planning permissions being refused locally and then being let through by the Government at the appeal stage. So you can imagine how pleased we all are!
Many of you will already be aware of the long fight that we have had to try and save Coed Hafodheulog (which evokes a wonderful mental image as heulog means sunny in Welsh). Originally the open cast proposals took out the entire of the woodland but after a lot of work Celtic Energy altered their plans to avoid the footprint of the woodland. Although this was good news we then found the next obstacle was Celtic Energy not acknowledging the indirect impacts of the coal-pit on the woodland. One of the reasons ancient woodland is valuable is because they provide wildlife with stability – alter this and many species are not able to adapt and find it difficult to survive. You can find out more about these types of impacts in our Neighbours from Hell report.
Sun filtering through woodland
As well as the horrific potential for the open cast to slowly kill the wood, there is the small issue of climate change to think about. The Trust believes that climate change is the biggest threat to our natural world and will have huge implications for the way we live our lives. We therefore wish to see forms of renewable energy being used to help us move to a low-carbon society rather than releasing ancient stores of carbon through burning fossil fuels. And lets face it – whilst coal is still being taken out of the ground it is going to be used.
This end result is a bit of a boost for the team – particularly as we have recently been notified of another open cast application that will result in a serious loss and damage to ancient woodland. This application at the Pentremawr Colliery is still at an early stage and is currently being considered by Carmarthenshire County Council. The team hopes that the Margam outcome is indicative of what is to come…
Posted by Kaye Brennan 
Posted by Kaye Brennan 
Posted by Kaye Brennan 
