A group of leading academics which has spoken out against a proposed airport in Central Otago has now grown to 77 members and includes peers from around New Zealand and the world.

University of Otago professor of sustainable tourism James Higham originally brought the group together and said it grew swiftly after the Christchurch Airport company dismissed its concerns in February. 

Airport executives had stated that the group’s call for a stay on the project was “premature” and its “assumptions are wrong”.

“To have nearly 80 leading academics - many of them professors and associate professors - now speaking out against an infrastructure project on the grounds of science is no small matter,” Professor Higham said. 

“We have not done this lightly. We are all very concerned that significant, established science is being ignored, and this project should not proceed.”

Concerns cited include the “significant environmental, social, cultural and economic as well as political and reputational consequences” of failing to reduce carbon emissions by building a new airport during a climate emergency.  

The group also pointed to the need to move “away from the volume-based growth approach” to tourism, which “underpins the airport proposal”. 

Professor Higham says the research index represents decades of research covering multiple relevant topics. 

Significantly, it includes dozens of peer-reviewed papers which point to the decarbonisation of aviation being “a long way off” and highlight significant concern around the airline industry talking of achieving “zero carbon aviation” or “net zero” based on technologies which currently do not exist. 

“There is wide scientific consensus that there is still a lot of work to do and many years - probably decades - before the industry could have any hope of significant decarbonisation.

“Zero carbon aviation is even further away. It is far from being a likelihood and certainly not a done deal.

“We’re speaking out because, against this backdrop of research and data, building a new international airport in Tarras, or anywhere in New Zealand for that matter, is nonsense and would be wrong for many reasons,” Professor Higham said.

PHOTO: Wānaka App