AIRPORT expansion plans, backed by ministers, will put Britain’s net zero target in “serious jeopardy,” MPs and campaigners warned today.

Demand for air travel is expected to rise and government policies are “insufficient” to cut carbon emissions from the aviation sector in line with targets, according to the Commons environmental audit committee.

“The government has not demonstrated that the economic growth from airport expansion provides enough benefit to outweigh the negative climate and environmental impacts it will lead to,” a report from the cross-party committee said.

Committee chair Toby Perkins added: “Meeting our decarbonisation targets is already a major challenge. Expanding airport capacity is likely to make that task much harder.”

He urged ministers to set out how they will meet climate, environment and biodiversity targets before the projects break ground.

The expansion schemes are expected to start before the government updates its national policy statement on airports, released in 2018. 

MPs said this meant the government was avoiding scrutiny and relying on “an outdated policy framework which is inconsistent with its objectives.”

Alethea Warrington, the head of aviation at climate charity Possible, said: “This is the final nail in the coffin for the government’s case for airport expansion.”

No 3rd Runway Coalition chairman Paul McGuinness said the committee’s warning over a lack of “substantial supporting evidence” that expanding Heathrow will add growth to the economy was “hardly surprising.”

Climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth Tony Bosworth added: “Unless the government can clearly show that expansion can be done within our carbon budgets and deliver the claimed growth, plans for a third runway at Heathrow must be abandoned.”

The Department for Transport said: “The transport secretary has launched the review of the airports national policy statement — a significant step in advancing plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport, which will drive economic growth and create jobs, delivering on our plan for change. 

“We have been clear that airport expansion will only go ahead if it aligns with our legal obligations on climate change, including net zero. We will be seeking advice from the independent Climate Change Committee to inform the review.”