At the latest count, 204 European airports were engaged in one of the six available certification levels of ACI Europe’s Airport Carbon Accreditation program, marking a major milestone for the initiative.
The occasion was highlighted at the 2022 ACI Europe Regional Airports’ Conference and Exhibition in Palermo, Italy. The latest airports to become accredited were Catania Fontanarossa Airport in Italy (the 200th) at Level 2, Shannon Airport in the Republic of Ireland at Level 1, Jersey Airport in the Channel Islands at Level 1, Newcastle in the UK at Level 1 and Brussels South Charleroi in Belgium at Level 2.
Clara de La Torre, deputy director general in the directorate-general (DG) for climate action at the European Commission, commented, “The climate emergency remains a top priority despite the other crises on the continent. Europe’s airports’ persistence and exemplary commitment to climate action is all the more noteworthy as the challenges we face right now affect their day-to-day operation and their future deeply. I would like to congratulate airports working their way up through multiple levels of certification under Airport Carbon Accreditation for their work to further decarbonization of the European aviation sector.”
Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said, “In these unprecedented times for our region, when positive news can be hard to come by, I am delighted by the progress made by Europe’s airports in addressing their impact on the climate. The past two years have been particularly daunting for our industry and it would have been easy to ‘postpone’ climate action until better times came around. Instead, what we have witnessed is a landslide engagement in Airport Carbon Accreditation, both in terms of new accreditations and upgrades to the most stringent levels of carbon management. This milestone leaves no doubt that European airports are true leaders in decarbonization, committed to addressing their emissions through thick and thin.”
