A proposal for a new international airport in Central Otago is facing stronger opposition, including from a scientist working at America’s space agency.
Almost 80 academics from around the world have now signed a letter condemning the project in Tarras.
Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, who uses satellite data and models to study the rapidly changing Earth.
He is the recipient of NASA’s prestigious Early Career Achievement Medal and has over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Kalmus told 1News that there’s no need for a new airport, which would only fuel climate change.
“Commercial aviation as it's practised today, and it's growing exponentially, is not sustainable in a planet that's already 1.3 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial and warming very rapidly.
“As long as aviation is growing and as long as people are still flying in private jets all over the place, that's a clear indication that humanity has not yet started treating this like an emergency,” said Kalmus.
Ninety kilometres from Queenstown, the “world-class sustainable airport” is the brainchild of Christchurch Airport.
Chief Strategy and Stakeholder Officer Michael Singleton said he agreed that “our climate is changing” and efforts must be made to decarbonise.
“Aviation faces a particular challenge and globally industry has committed major resources to solving this problem. Progress is being made.
“New Zealand has clear planning frameworks and a rulebook for all infrastructure proposals. Stopping our project now makes no sense and will leave decision-makers with poorer information to base decisions on in the future,” said Singleton.
University of Otago professor James Higham is against the new airport, and has spent years researching sustainable tourism, tourism and global environmental change, and tourism carbon emissions.
“There have been promises made and assurances made around technology developments that will help us to decarbonise aviation in the future, but the vast majority of promises and projections for decarbonising aviation have not been met.
“The common consensus now, the research consensus is very clear, and that is that these technologies may actually never come to pass, certainly in terms of replacing the enormous aviation industry that we have today,” said Higham.
Michael Singleton also argues that the airport would help solve connectivity issues the lower South Island faces being at the bottom of the world.
He said unlike other countries, New Zealand doesn’t have an alternate transport system like rail, and will continue to be uniquely reliant on aviation.
“The lower South Island is facing real connectivity issues. Not addressing these now will impact the wellbeing of future generations. The fact researchers want to stop us exploring a potential solution is short-sighted,” said Singleton.
James Higham said green technologies can be used to address connectivity, rather than a significant infrastructure investment “that will lock us into high carbon transportation for generations to come”.
Man-made climate change is moving quickly and time is running out, according to Peter Kalmus, who wants people to treat the issue as a “genuine emergency” rather than adding to it.
“I don't think the public recognises how much danger we're in yet.
“So few people are treating this like an emergency that even if you kind of know the facts … you look around at all your friends, you look around at world leaders, you look around at corporations and everyone around you is acting like everything's normal.
“It's very hard to accept that we're in an emergency when almost no one is acting like we are in an emergency, but from where I'm sitting, we definitely are,” said Kalmus.
The academics are speaking out independently of their respective employers.
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