Airport News
More than 50 European airports representing half of total EU air passenger traffic have signed up to an industry scheme to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, airports body ACI Europe said on Tuesday.
The Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme includes some of Europe's busiest airline hubs, including London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt. The share of EU passenger traffic covered by the scheme has doubled since its launch in 2009.
"It is clearly helping to move European aviation on to a more sustainable footing," EU transport chief Siim Kallas said in a statement.
Airport operations account for about 5 percent of total aviation emissions, which in turn make up about 2 percent of total global CO2 emissions, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated.
The voluntary airport scheme aims to reduce the carbon footprint of airports by cutting emissions from ground transport, boosting the use of renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.
In its second full year of operation, 43 accredited airports reduced their total carbon emissions by 729,689 tonnes, equivalent to the annual emissions of 180,000 cars, ACI Europe said.
