The European branch (ACI Europe) of the global airport organization “Airports Council International” has just announced the latest results of its initiative in the fight against climate change, Airport Carbon Accreditation. This voluntary carbon management certification program was launched in June 2009. It is independently administered and institutionally endorsed. The program currently includes 55 certified airports in Europe and one in Asia-Pacific, each at one of the four existing levels of carbon accreditation: mapping, reduction, optimization, and neutrality.
– Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has received mapping level carbon accreditation.
“This announcement by the Airport Carbon Accreditation program officials reflects the seriousness of the airport sector, and Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is proud to have successfully contributed to this effort,” says Hervé de Place, Chairman of the Board of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur.
According to an estimate by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the total volume of CO2 emissions from aviation represents 2% of the global emissions’ impact on climate change. Airport activities account for only 5% of this share, but European airports are keen to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Several airport operators have already committed to becoming carbon-neutral in recent years, and some have already achieved this goal.
This program is administered by the independent firm WSP Environment & Energy, overseen by an independent advisory board comprising representatives from the European Commission, ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference), EUROCONTROL, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
In its first year, the program certified 18 airports and achieved a reduction of 411,390 tCO2. In the second year, 43 airports were accredited and the total reduction reached 729,689 tCO2, equivalent to removing 180,000 cars from our roads.
The final results of the third year will be announced at the 22nd annual ACI EUROPE congress, which will be held in Madrid from June 20 to 22, 2012.
