A meeting has heard that the government would struggle to meet its net zero carbon emissions target if Luton Airport continues to expand.

Luton Borough Council's Luton Airport air quality impact task and finish group met to discuss the impact of the airport's plan to expand from 18 million to 32 million passengers per annum by 2039 - raising CO2 emissions from 2.2m tonnes to 3.9m.

At the meeting, Wigmore resident Carolyn Cottier said: "How can the government maintain its target of net zero emissions by 2050? With this degree of increase in CO2 it would be near impossible."

However the issue was considered beyond the group's remit, and more appropriate for the local authority's team investigating climate change.

Andrew Loosely, the council's technical officer for air quality, argued that the council has responsibility for monitoring the levels of certain pollutants, which do not include C02.