Airports globally are striving for accreditation in carbon reduction, and many are showing good results in carbon emissions management.
Proof of this is the annual airport climate action results recently released by the Airports Council International (ACI). The report shows that great progress has been made by airports in attaining strict accreditation levels in the reporting year (May 2021-May 2022).
In the period covered, accredited airports collectively reduced CO₂ emissions under their control by 549 643 tonnes, a reduction of 8,1%. This represents the largest reduction ever achieved through the programme.
The period ended with 395 airports from 79 countries involved in carbon management and carbon reduction operating within one of the Airport Carbon Accreditation’s (ACA) six programme levels.
The programme involves airports of all sizes, from top global hubs such as Heathrow and Doha’s Hamad International, to smaller airports serving remote areas such as the Galapagos and Trondheim.
The 91 new accreditations reported represent the highest growth in the programme since ACA’s inception in 2009. Eighty-six airports had upgraded to higher programme levels and 89 had achieved advanced levels of carbon management.
In line with ACI Europe’s offsetting guidance, 898 821 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) were compensated with high-quality carbon credits.
The latest addition to the programme framework, Levels 4 (Transition) and 4+ (Transformation) require airports to align their carbon and reduction efforts with the Paris Agreement objectives, which intend to limit global warming to below 2°C.
Within the reporting period, 322 airports were accredited at those levels.
Niclas Svenningsen, Manager for Programmes Coordination at the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change said: “The results speak volumes of the global airport industry’s commitment to fighting climate change. Against the backdrop of worsening climate impacts and the window of opportunity to keep the warming below 1,5°C rapidly closing, we need all parts of our global economy to act now.
“Airports have clearly understood this message and are on the frontline of climate mitigation within their spheres of influence and lending their impetus to other industry actors. I commend each and every airport engaged in this collective effort to advance the decarbonisation of the airport industry globally.”
