Monthly Archives: September 2019

London City Airport Draft Masterplan and Climate Change

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Admin

September 2019:The Chief Executive’s foreword to the London City Airport’s Draft Masterplan, currently out for consultation, commits the organisation to the following: “We will become a carbon neutral business by 2020 and fully support and welcome the Government’s recent commitments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Our ambition is to be at the forefront of this agenda, and we will achieve these 2050 targets by employing the latest technology and innovation and working with our airlines and partners to help the achieve these goals too.”

The Masterplan’s Sustainability Strategy sets out that on ‘Carbon and Climate Change’ the airport’s plans are to:

  • Become an independently accredited ‘carbon neutral’ business by 2020;
  • Work with airlines to deliver more new generation aircraft which are more fuel efficient and will emit fewer carbon emissions per passenger per flight;
  • Achieve net zero emissions by 2050, consistent with the emerging
  • commitments from governments and industry around the world;
  • Invest more in low carbon technology and more energy efficient buildings;
  • Promote increased public and sustainable transport usage by staff and passengers;
  • Work with airlines and manufacturers on the hybrid and electric
  • aircraft agenda; and
  • Work with NATS to deliver their predicted annual savings in fuel burn and CO2 emissions through participation in the Government’s airspace modernisation process.

However, as pointed out by HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise), London City Airport has admitted that it does not know as yet the impact on climate change emissions of their expansion proposals.

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London City Airport GHG Emissions

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Admin

September 2019: Helpful press release from HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) stating that London City Airport has admitted that it does not know the impact on climate change emissions of the expansion proposals outlined in its draft Master Plan currently out for consultation. A technical note on ‘carbon and GHG emissions’ sets out that:

“It is not possible at this time to calculate total emissions which might arise from the draft Master Plan because this relies upon the accurate quantification of GHG emissions using detailed modelling and data from a combination of aircraft forecasts, fleet mix composition, construction and engineering designs, energy supply, and other details of the proposed future infrastructure. However, during the Master Plan period up to 2035, it can be expected that further improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency and emissions will take place as greater numbers of ‘new generation’ aircraft such as the Airbus A220-100 are introduced to the fleet. Moreover, the airport is predicted to accommodate an approximate 69% increase in passengers by 2035 (i.e. from 6.5 to 11 million passengers per annum) coupled with only a 36% increase in flights (i.e. from the 111,000 ATMs to 151,000 ATMs) and with only limited additional infrastructure. As such, provisional analysis would suggest that carbon emissions per passenger will decrease even further over the Master Plan period. 2.29 Should a detailed proposal come forward in the future, the airport would need to assess the total GHG emissions of that proposal as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)”.

This issue will continue to be scrutinised as London City Airport continues with its planning application.

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London’s electric bus fleet becomes the largest in Europe

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Admin

5 September 2019: A Transport for London (TfL) press release announced today that “routes 43 and 134 will become the UK’s first bus routes to use only electric double-deck buses this autumn” and that London now has “more than 200 electric buses, making it Europe’s largest electric bus fleet, and this will grow significantly next year as Transport for London (TfL) has awarded contracts to operators for a further 78 electric double-deck buses”. The majority of electric buses presently on London’s streets are single-deck buses, but following a pilot programme testing out new electric double deck buses (see here, here and here) these are now coming on.

This news suggests that some 300 or so electric buses will be operating in the capital in 2020 – out of a total of 9,000 London buses currently in operation (a detailed breakdown of which is provided below).

TfL buses by type (London Datastore) 31 March 2019 data

The Mayor has committed to making all buses within the M25 zero emission by 2037 (as set out in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy – see timetable below) at the very latest, and this press release sets out that the Mayor has asked TfL to look at the feasibility of bringing this date forward. Further information on the Mayor’s ‘Cleaner Bus’ programme is available here.

Mayor’s Transport Strategy 2018 (p111)

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Economist City Liveability Index

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Admin

5 September 2019: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has published the latest version of their annual city “liveability” index, highlighting their analysis of the best (and worst) cities in the world in live in. It is interesting to note the extent that the impact of climate change is considered, with the report stating that: ” A slew of cities in emerging markets that are among the most exposed to the effects of climate change have seen their scores downgraded. These include New Delhi in India, which suffers from appalling air quality, Cairo in Egypt (where air quality is also a major issue) and Dhaka in Bangladesh. A lack of a concerted global effort to tackle climate change risks further downward revisions in these scores, threatening to offset improvements in the other categories, such as education and infrastructure, which remain on a broadly upward trend.” Continue reading…

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