Doubling down on fossil fuels won't save us from rising energy bills - but it would be terrible for our climate. Alex Chapman on BBC Five Live this afternoon.

🔔 New study🔔 What is the relationship between air transport and economic growth in Europe? Dr Felix Pot and I break it down like never before in our new report for @neweconomics.bsky.social and T&E: /1

Check out our senior economist @alchap.bsky.social on the Energy Revolution podcast talking airports, economic growth and the climate crisis. Full episode available here: linktr.ee/energyrevolu...

I did my first episode on the NEF podcast 🫣

My dad was arrested in London yesterday for holding a placard saying "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action". He's a retired university lecturer who is involved in his local church. Prior to yesterday's demonstration his only legal infraction was a speeding ticket for doing 36 in a 30 zone.

The right questions getting asked. This week in the Times, Alistair Osborne punctures the myth that a third runway at Heathrow is "crucial for business". Why? Because of the CEO's admission that the "decline in business travel appears to be permanent.../1 www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

This just in. Kemi thinks the actions of Palestine Action at Brize Norton might have stopped a war crime... Not sure she fully thought this one through 😂

You've heard of frequent flyers, but we've got some new research for you on the idea of ultra- frequent flyers. Exciting work from my colleague @alchap.bsky.social where he makes a compelling case as to why this new class of flyers is not paying it's fair share of tax and how we can fix it. 👇👇

There's broad public support for net zero by 2050 & people are concerned about the impact of the climate crisis. So let's deliver net zero policies that benefit ordinary people rather than calling it into question. @alchap.bsky.social spoke to LBC News in light of Tony Blair's comments.

🚨The government has given Luton airport approval to expand. This is despite the fact that it will do very little to boost economic growth and will be devastating for our climate goals. @alchap.bsky.social responds.

somewhat tongue in cheek here but I saw this and was reminded immediately of @alchap.bsky.social talking about the negative impacts of air travel expansion

Hi @davidtwilcock.bsky.social. I just wanted to flag that your Mail Online piece from Thursday is hugely misleading & seems to be based off a fundamental misunderstanding of the statistics I'll explain why, then maybe you can retract the piece & issue an apology... 🧵1/6

Recommended reading on the smoke and mirrors government is using to build out a justification for austerity

I wrote a thing about what really went down in the Gatwick airport expansion decision. Refusal recommended, but it might go ahead? Economic growth? Techie post, you were warned. www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-r...

All the reasons why the Gatwick airport expansion is a mistake, in under 1 minute - from @alchap.bsky.social on @lbc.co.uk with @shelaghfogarty.bsky.social

Had a great chat with @adamtranter.bsky.social and @lauralaker.bsky.social on the Streets Ahead podcast. All things transport, economics, growth, and yes, sorry, the 'Green Book'! Have a listen here: shows.acast.com/streets-ahea...

Great to hear @alchap.bsky.social (surely one of the busiest ppl in transport at the moment?) on @podstreetsahead.bsky.social talking all things economics & transport. Agree with him that the Green Book doesn’t sit behind decisions like Heathrow - it is all politics. Highly recommend a listen.

statistic of the day: approving the expansion of Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick airports would wipe out ALL the benefits of the government’s 2030 "clean power" target within five years of expanded operation, according to analysis by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) neweconomics.org/2025/01/airp....

👀The research Rachel Reeves used to evidence the benefits of Heathrow expansion was commissioned by Heathrow itself. @alchap.bsky.social spoke to the @theguardian.com about why, with our climate goals at stake, this is such a big problem www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I spoke to the Observer about the shoddy economics sitting behind Reeves' Heathrow announcement... and the article only covers the half of it... thread www.theguardian.com/environment/...

As the Chancellor reaches for growth there's one place she won't find it - OBR forecasts. OBR multipliers devalue public spending and keep us in a doom-loop of austerity Our new report offers a framework that flexibly embraces the positive potential of public spending

The government needs to explain the economic logic behind its decision on airport expansion - because the growth case for it just doesn't add up. @alchap.bsky.social spoke to the @the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/news/busines...

So today the Chancellor has said that airport expansion is "good for families wanting to go on cheap holidays". This is her "growth" plan. Making it cheaper to go to (e.g.) a Spanish island. How about making it cheaper to get to Blackpool, Great Yarmouth or Torquay?

"Yes, and" ...more damage from climate hazards ...more regional inequality ...a smaller domestic tourism sector ...a bigger current account deficit ...more costly traded carbon prices ...higher land and energy prices ...more noise and air quality Etc.

It's extraordinary that we are having this public debate about airport expansions with barely a whisper about what it means for domestic tourism. It's no coincidence the UK's overnight tourism sector is in decline, i.e. contributing to our stagnant growth. We keep making it cheaper to go overseas!

NEW: How much wealth is too much?🤔 In partnership with @patrioticmillionaires.org we've published a new report exploring the case for an Extreme Wealth Line. We spoke to politicians, policy makers and millionaires to get their thoughts on the concept - here's some of what we found.

The aviation industry, in defence of the economic benefits of airport expansion, are pointing to the Airports Commission's 2015 work. Fun fact: The Commission's forecasts were catastrophically wrong. Business passenger numbers are way off. So their outputs on GDP growth etc. are total nonsense.

Twist in the Heathrow saga this morning. Insiders are asking the right questions about whether the supposed growth benefit is really worth the catastrophic climate damage afterall...

"These airports are funnels for UK cash to go overseas - I'd like to hear the rationale for how that generates growth benefits in the UK." @alchap.bsky.social explains why airport expansions won't create the growth the chancellor wants

The economic growth argument for airport expansion simply doesn't add up. ✈️ NEF's @alchap.bsky.social spoke to Sky News news.sky.com/story/chance...

The way they are convincing themselves of their righteousness through the 'NIMBY bogeyman' is scary, perhaps a bit Trumpian, because it's a way of disregarding actual evidence.

It's time for economists, academics and transport specialists to stand up and be counted. Today's news is awash with articles uncritically accepting the argument that airport expansion is 'good for growth'. Yet the arguments in favour are largely based on 'vibes'...

New analysis: If four UK airport expansions including Heathrow are allowed to go ahead, they will cancel out the carbon savings of this government’s clean power plan IN JUST FIVE YEARS. This government must cancel these planned expansions. neweconomics.org/2025/01/airp...

New NEF analysis out today. Amid rumours that gvt will expand Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick airports, we show that doing so would wipe out the benefit of the government's Clean Power Plan (i.e. the sprint for zero carbon electricity by 2030) within 5 years of expanded operation. /1

Billionaires accumulating more and more wealth is damaging for all of us. We're already seeing billionaires distort democracy and the wealth they hoard could be used to address social issues or the climate crisis.

This is well worth a read. The numbers don't stack up. It doesn't make sense to put £90m of public money into an airport which primarily encourages local residents to spend their cash out of the country. How is that helpful for the local economy?

How much are they offering for Netanyahu?

Good news today that real pay is growing. Finally a little bit of disposable income in household budgets. Will government expand Luton and Gatwick airports and ship that money straight off to Spain etc.?

The latest issue of IPPR's progressive review is on transport and well worth a read. Paul Donald's piece on road traffic and the death of wild nature is brutal but essential. Congrats to @sfrost.bsky.social and the other editors. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/25732331...

Still haven't processed the classification of crumpets as junk food.

The charm offensive is on, ahead of big gvt decisions on Luton and Gatwick expansions early next year. The economic growth claims are baseless. The climate risks are material.

Great piece by @alchap.bsky.social "... low-income households are the group most in need of cost-cutting green investments, and the least able to afford them. Not only that, but they could end up experiencing an unfair share of the costs of the transition"

Question for the day: What happens to an economy that has zero growth in real household expenditure, but at the same time sees a very significant rise in spending on travel abroad?

Hello BSky world! I'm Alex - generally posting about the economics of climate change, carbon taxes, skills, and ranting a lot about aviation/airport expansion!