Airports' CO2 reduction and 4 new carbon neutral airports announced in Europe

• Brussels, London Stansted, Rome Ciampino and Treviso become carbon neutral

 

• Latest CO₂ reduction by European airport industry announced: -163,277 tonnes of CO₂

 

• 133 airports in Europe are now certified at one of the 4 levels of Airport Carbon Accreditation

 

• Those airports welcome over 65% of European passenger traffic last year

 

Brussels - At this year’s ACI Europe & World Annual General Assembly (WAGA) taking place in Brussels, the European region of ACI today announced 4 new carbon neutral airports in Europe and issued an update on the progress it has been making in addressing its CO₂ emissions, through the independent and voluntary global certification programme, Airport Carbon Accreditation.

 

Reaching carbon neutrality under Airport Carbon Accreditation means that an airport has reduced the emissions under its direct control (Scope 1 & 2) as much as it was possible and has offset the remaining residual emissions.

 

Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE commented “We are very excited to announce the certification of 4 new carbon neutral airports in 3 European countries today. In total, we now have 133 airports participating in Airport Carbon Accreditation. These airports welcome over 65% of European air passenger traffic. From June 2017 to May 2018, accredited airports in Europe succeeded in collectively reducing the CO₂ emissions under their direct control by 163,277 tonnes of CO₂ - a reduction of 7.6%.”

 

The latest European airports to become carbon neutral at the dedicated Airport Carbon Accreditation ceremony during this year’s WAGA in Brussels were:

 

- Brussels Airport - having joined the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme in 2010, it has invested significantly across the range of its emissions sources and implemented a comprehensive sustainability strategy – gradually ascending the levels of the programme to become carbon neutral today.

 

- London Stansted - the airport joined its MAG siblings Manchester and East Midlands in becoming carbon neutral, making it the first carbon neutral airport group in the UK.

 

- Rome Ciampino - as the second airport operated by Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), Ciampino joined Rome Fiumicino in becoming carbon neutral as well.

 

- Treviso - the Italian regional airport - also received its Level 3+ Neutrality certificate.

 

The European airport industry last year committed to have 100 carbon neutral airports by 2030. These latest additions bring the list of carbon neutral airports in Europe to 34.

 

Niclas Svenningsen, who heads the Climate Neutral Now initiative at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in Bonn, Germany commented “It is heartening to see the momentum of Europe’s airport industry towards delivering on their pledge to have 100 carbon neutral airports in Europe by 2030. With the addition of Brussels, London Stansted, Rome Ciampino and Treviso today, they are now a third of the way there – all through voluntary action by airport operators. At the UNFCCC, we regularly underline that genuine progress on climate action relies on a proactive approach by industry and society at large, not just governments. Airports are one part of the air transport supply chain, but their example is powerful. I congratulate today’s newly certified carbon neutral airports and urge others to consider what they can do to be the next ones.”

 

With 4 different levels of accreditation covering all stages of carbon management (Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality), Airport Carbon Accreditation is independently administered, institutionally-endorsed¹ and has the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Commission (EC).

 

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For all the latest key figures, including details of the accredited airports in each world region, their actions and the difference the programme is making, check out the interactive maps, case studies & programme results on www.AirportCO2.org.

 

The Global reduction achieved by airports in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme will be announced at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva on 2 & 3 October 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Note to editors

  The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has estimated that aviation’s total CO₂ emissions account for 2% of global emissions’ impact on climate change. Of that figure, airports’ own operations only account for up to 5%, but airports are keen to tackle their greenhouse gas emissions – several individual airports operators having already committed to becoming carbon neutral in the past few years with some having already achieved this.

   

  °Find out more about CORSIA by visiting:

  http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Pages/A39_CORSIA_FAQ2.aspx

   

  The Airport Carbon Accreditation programme - launched by the airport association ACI EUROPE in 2009 - certifies airports at 4 different levels of accreditation covering all stages of carbon management (1. Mapping, 2. Reduction, 3. Optimisation and 3+. Neutrality). It is independently administered, institutionally-endorsed¹ and has the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the European Union (EU) and others.

   

  **Airports are at different points on this journey to become cleaner and more efficient. As the centrepoints of a complex web of aircraft movements, technical operations and surface access transport, airports can address their CO₂ emissions in a variety of ways. These can include better insulation and energy efficiency, switching to green energy sources, investing in hybrid, electric or gas-powered service vehicles, encouraging employees, passengers & visitors to use public transport, working with airlines & air traffic management to reduce runway taxiing times and implement green landing processes and much more.

   

  Originally developed and launched by ACI EUROPE in June 2009, Airport Carbon Accreditation was extended to airports in Asia-Pacific, in November 2011 (in partnership with ACI Asia-Pacific) and to African airports in June 2013, (in partnership with ACI Africa), North American airports in September 2014 (in partnership with ACI-NA) and airports in Latin America & Caribbean in December 2014 (in partnership with ACI-LAC).

   

  ¹The programme is administered by leading consultancy WSP and overseen by an independent Advisory Board including representatives from the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change), ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme), the European Commission, ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference), EUROCONTROL and Manchester Metropolitan University.

   

  WSP is the independent Administrator of Airport Carbon Accreditation. As such, it accredits the airports under the programme, provides administrative and secretariat services and advises applicant airports through the accreditation process.

   

  WSP is one of the world’s leading engineering professional services firms. WSP are technical experts and strategic advisors, and provide services to transform the built environment and restore the natural one, in areas including environmental and climate remediation, urban and transport planning, sustainable transport networks and strategies, airport sustainability, carbon management and energy planning and management.

  http://www.wsp.com/

   

  To find out which airports are certified & their level of certification, visit: http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org/airport/participants.html