Climate change protesters chant during a demonstration inside Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

Despite claims by governments that the environment remains top of their agenda, they have often had to make a sacrifice as the economy becomes a greater priority.

This is reflected by the recent decision by the British government, which gave the go-ahead to the controversial expansion of Heathrow airport in London, one of the busiest air hubs in the world.
On Thursday the government endorsed the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, along with a high-speed rail link. Proponents have strongly argued that Heathrow's expansion is important to the national economy. This has become even more crucial as Britain attempts to dig its way out of a deep recession.

Environmentalists have fought a long battle against the plans. But their voices have fallen on deaf ears. They have warned that the project will further increase pollution, displace over 700 residents, and seriously compromise Britain's goal to become a world leader in creating a low-carbon economy.

Since its opening in 1946, the Heathrow airport has expanded to include two runways and five terminals, providing links to more than 180 destinations worldwide. Every year some 67 million passengers use the airport and this number is likely to increase considerably over the coming years.
In order to maintain its position in the 21st century, the government has forced through the expansion plans, with construction set to start in 2015.

The decision to proceed with the project has met with a mixed response. A heated debate has ensued over the pros and cons of airport expansion and dominated the front pages of Friday's newspapers in Britain.

The new runway is expected to increase the capacity of the airport, which is already operating at 99 percent of its existing capacity. The capacity strain has led to delays and constraints of economic growth, according to British Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon.

He insisted that Heathrow is losing ground to other European airports such as Schiphol in Amsterdam. Hoon said increased capacity was critical to Britain's long-term economic prosperity. However, with the new runway not expected to open until 2019, at the earliest, Britain will lose yet more business to other European airports.

The expansion decision has drawn widespread criticism, especially from environment groups. The Friends of the Earth (FOE)said that it revealed flaws in the government's economic strategy, ran against the country's climate change policy, and was an unnecessary approach for London in order to remain competitive.

FOE Executive Director Andy Atkins said: "The government's economic case for Heathrow is fundamentally flawed. If it wasn't for this financial 'sleight of hand' the case for airport expansion would collapse."

"Aviation is one of Britain's fastest growing sources of carbondioxide. Cutting growth in air travel would help Britain develop anew green economy and reduce our dependence on insecure and dirty fossil fuels," Atkins pointed out.

The government has promised to allow only less-polluting airplanes to use the runway and to cut emissions at the airport by2050 to the 2005 levels.
 
Edit by Mu Xuequan (XFN)