can’t expand airports after declaring a climate emergency – let’s shift to low-carbon transport instead

The world may finally be waking to the reality of the climate and ecological crisis, after 30 years of inaction. But while the UK parliament has declared a climate and ecological emergency, ongoing plans for airport expansions suggest we’re flying full-speed towards crisis rather than away from it.

Globally, greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are rising rapidly, and set to further escalate. Passenger numbers are rising far too fast for efficiency improvements and alternative technologies, such as electric or biofuel-powered engines, to keep up. What’s worse, the climate impact of flights is two to three times larger than their CO₂ emissions alone, due to the release of nitrogen oxides – powerful greenhouse gases – and the contrails planes leave in their wake which trap even more heat in the atmosphere. The aviation industry has also evaded fuel taxes, emissions regulations, and is often completely omitted in emissions accounting.

This is particularly important as cities are setting targets to reduce their carbon emissions. While many of these cities have airports, their climate strategies tend to focus on the emissions released within the city’s boundaries and from their electricity use. They don’t account for emissions from imported goods and services that are consumed in the city but produced elsewhere, nor from flights through their airports. Any emissions from residents travelling outside the city are generally omitted.

Source: https://theconversation.com/we-cant-expand-airports-after-declaring-a-climate-emergency-lets-shift-to-low-carbon-transport-instead-120740

European Airports to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050

European airports want to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050 at the latest, Airports Council International (ACI)-Europe said June 26 as its members gathered in Limassol, Cyprus for its annual congress and general assembly.

ACI Europe said 194 airports run by 40 airport operators across 24 European countries had also individually committed to the same objective, marking “a step change in the climate action of the airport industry.”

It estimated that, based on current European airport traffic volumes—2.34 billion passengers in 2018—the commitment would eliminate 3.46 million tons of annual CO2 emissions as of 2050.

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