National Friends of the Earth recently published a briefing paper on the economic costs and benefits of airport expansion. This paper is relevant to South Glos FoE for two reasons, one narcissistic, one not. First, I was consulted in my professional capacity about the report. Second, of course, South Glos is one area likely to be affected considerably by any expansion of Bristol airport - one reason why we have supported Bristol FoE's campaign against it.

The report investigates whether airport expansion is likely to be economically beneficial, as is often claimed by its supporters. Note that the report is not about whether or not to have airports; it is concerned with their expansion. This is a crucial distinction, principally because pro-expansionists attack reports such as this for being anti-airport, or allegedly wanting to get rid of airports.

The report acknowledges, of course, that there are economic benefits to airport expansion. However, it shows that in fact estimates of those benefits are exaggerated, because, for instance: predictions of growth of demand for air travel are overly optimistic (particularly given rising oil prices); many of the benefits of more airport activity can be achieved without expansion; and ignores the fact that many of the benefits of airport expansion actually accrue outside the UK, to foreign passengers and foreign passenger destinations.

Further, the benefits of expanding airports have associated costs. First, there are other sectors of the economy, many of which could provide transport, which require investment and could provide economic benefits themselves, which are starved of resources which instead go to airport expansion. Second, of course, there are the significant environmental costs of increased air travel and airport expansion. The potential damage to the local environment around south Bristol from a larger Bristol airport is an example. As usual, these environmental costs are difficult to measure and tend to be undervalued, making the case for expansion apparently stronger.

The report's main message is that even if it were acceptable to trade off environmental degradation against economic benefit, in fact, the economic benefits are nowhere near as large as is claimed.

Andrew

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