The aviation industry is the UK’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) that cause climate change.
It is estimated that aviation will account for at least 25% of all the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050.
The charity the World Development Movement has estimated that a third runway could produce as mush CO2 in a year as Kenya.
As well as the global impact of climate change, the airport also has a major impact on local air pollution.
Research by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has shown that levels of dangerous nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas around airports like Heathrow is already 75% higher than recommended EU levels.
And the government’s own research has shown that building a third runway would expose a further 21,000 people to dangerous levels of NO2.