With every passing day, the collective awareness of the need to combating climate change emissions is inexorably increasing. Within this inertia of thought and action, there are organisations and individuals who point the finger at the aviation industry as one of the main causes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Without questioning these critical positions, it is important to consider what the reality of this statement is and to be aware that what the aviation sector is doing to mitigate any influence on the environment.
Both collectively and individually we all have a role to play in the fight against climate change and there is no doubt that climate action within the aviation industry is not just a theoretical issue, but has been on the agenda of all those involved for many years.
For the last ten years 350 airports worldwide, handling more than 43% of the world's traffic (3.3 billion passengers per year), have been striving to achieve climate neutrality. Fifty have already achieved it.
In the aviation sector there are two contexts for climate action: airports and the aviation industry.
In the case of airports it is relevant the positive role being played by the main organisations in the sectorThe ICA is at the forefront of these, with the ICA (Airports Council International), as well as the committed actions undertaken by the airport operators themselves.
In 2009, the ICA launched in Europe the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACC) (see here)oriented encourage and stimulate the actions undertaken by airports to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In 2014, this accreditation was extended to airports around the world and, to date, almost 350 airports in 70 countries have signed up to the initiative. Between them, they account for 43% of the world's traffic (around 3.3 billion passengers). Of these, 50 airports have already achieved, or are on the verge of achieving, climate neutralityemissions, i.e. a balance between global emissions and removals.
Airports participating in the ACC programme acquire the commitment to measure, manage and reduce CO2 emissions emissions from their operations and encourage this to create inertia and then do the same for the airport-related businesses themselves. To do this, airport operators must take into account all sources of emissions under their direct control. This means acting on more efficient lighting, heating, switching to hybrid or electric vehicles on the ground, use of renewable energies or better energy management. The inertia generated by this way of thinking and acting has a positive influence on the planning and implementation of other actions related to responsible environmental managementThese include waste management or the use of more environmentally friendly products and materials.
In practice, the ACC has been adopted as a standard for carbon management at airports. It is aligned with international standards that affect the airport industry, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol or the ISO 14064 Standard, in accordance with which it is periodically reviewed and updated.
The adoption of accreditation by the airports is planned in four levels, each one more restrictive than the previous one. It is very interesting that this is the case because it allows that, however precarious the starting situation of any airport in the environmental context may be, it can easily follow a phased improvement programme to reach climate neutrality. The four phases of this accreditation are as follows:
The first stage is the mapping. It requires a commitment by the airport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This agreement must be endorsed by the airport management and be focused on all processes under the direct control of the airport.
The second level is that of reduction. It requires compliance with all crediting requirements of the previous stage, as well as the formulation of a carbon emissions reduction target, the development of a carbon emissions management plan and the actual annual reduction of emissions under the airport's control.
The third phase is the optimisation. In addition to meeting the requirements of the previous level, it includes the development of a more demanding carbon footprint and the formulation of a plan for the participation of other stakeholders involved in the operation of the airport.
The last level is that of the climate neutral. It requires compliance with Tier 3 accreditation requirements, as well as compensation for those residual emissions under the airport's control that cannot be eliminated or reduced.
There are currently 89 airports that comply with the mapping level (level 1), 77 are already in the reduction level (level 2), 58 are in the optimisation phase (level 3) and 50 have reached climate neutrality (level 3+).
Thanks to this tiered approach, airports find an incentive to improve regardless of their initial situation. At the same time, the sharing good practices The programme is designed to help each of the airports participating in the programme to find the most suitable innovative examples to address different challenges which means trying to implement a climate-neutral horizon.
According to the latest report issued at the end of 2019 by the ACI regarding ACC accreditation, there are currently 144 airports in Europe, 54 in the Asia-Pacific region, 39 in North America, 23 in Latin America and 14 in Africa.
The result is surprising. In the last year, the airports adhering to ACC accreditation achieved a reduction of 322,297 tons of net CO2 emissions under their direct control. To put this in perspective, this would be equivalent to the equivalent absorption generated by planting seven and a half million trees in ten years.
There is no doubt that airports all over the world have taken on the responsibility of the need to fight climate change decisively and effectively without forcing a reduction in a mode of transport that benefits more than 7 billion people annually, including some of its outspoken critics.
And another day we will talk about what the Aviation industry is doing the same in this field, improving aircraft efficiency, optimising materials, managing processes more efficiently and reducing overall emissions, both as an industry and in terms of aircraft operation.
