The Heathrow runway ruling is a step in the right direction to tackle the climate crisis

Editorial: The change in political and public opinion over the issue has proceeded at a surprising pace – yet it is far from complete

A computer generated image shows Heathrow with a third runway

(EPA)

After years of planning, argument and protest, the expansion of Heathrow airport has at last been halted. That would be a hugely significant story in any circumstances. It is in fact a historic moment and, it is to be hoped, a turning point in the struggle to save the planet.

For the first time a major infrastructure project, backed by the private sector and supported by successive governments, has been not merely delayed but stopped because of its detrimental impact on carbon dioxide emissions. That is why it is impossible to overstate the importance of the ruling.

Never before has the environment prevailed over economics. Yet the legal position is perfectly clear, and the addition of 260,000 flights a year at Heathrow has rightly been judged to be incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the Paris climate change agreement. It brings into sharp relief the kind of tough, painful choices that will be required of every country and every inhabitant of Earth if the planet is to be saved as a habitable environment for generations to come. It is no good having the best air transport in the world if there is no world left to visit.