Climate activists to protest Barcelona airport expansion on June 28

A coalition of ecologists, scientists, and local residents is calling for a rally on June 28 in Barcelona to protest the planned expansion of Barcelona Airport.

The demonstration will take place at 11.30 am at the central Plaça Sant Jaume. Organizers hope for a "large turnout" for what they described as the "first act of opposition" to the runway extension.

Organized under the ZEROPORT platform, which includes groups such as Greenpeace, the activists have formed a united front against the project.

They argue that the extension, announced on Tuesday by president Salvador Illa, will increase pollution, accelerate global warming, and further worsen the climate crisis.

Environmentalists also claim that the project reinforces a tourism-driven economic model that displaces residents and promotes "precarious employment."

"Expanding the airport will lead to higher emissions. It directly contradicts the goal of reducing emissions in the long term," said Olga Alcaraz, a physics professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya member of the platform.

The expert argued that the project's future climate bill will be "far greater" than the planned €3.2 billion investment.

"It is like throwing fuel on a fire and expecting it to go out," she added. 

Clàudia Custodio, a member of the platform, argued that there is currently "no space" for the extension and dismissed the proposed environmental offsetting measures as a "distraction."

When asked whether the European Commission might reject the project, Custodio was pessimistic, stating that she believes the EU "is too permissive with aviation lobbies."

Activists also denounce that they are "tired of compensations," as the environmental offsetting promised during the previous airport expansion has still not been fully implemented.

In fact, the European Commission has warned that no new expansion project can be considered until the previously approved offsetting measures are completed.

"They take us for fools. They’ve destroyed natural and protected areas in a very short time. This is a climate-denialist government," said Joan Sanpera Casals, from the local platform SOS Llobregat,