Airports in region at various levels of Airport Carbon Accreditation for CO2 emissions reduction

A number of airports in the region have so far joined Airport Carbon Accreditation, a global initiative aimed at reducing CO2 emissions at airports, and have reached different levels of accreditation over the years, according to a list of participating airports available on the program’s website.

Most recently, Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari in Kosovo* has upgraded its Airport Carbon Accreditation to Level 3 – optimization, a stage that requires third-party engagement in carbon footprint reduction, EX-YU Aviation News reported.

Third parties include airlines and various service providers, such as independent ground handlers, catering companies, air traffic control, and others working on the airport site. It also involves engagement on surface access modes (road, rail) with authorities and users.

The Pristina airport joined the program at the Level 1 – mapping phase in September 2016, and moved up to Level 2 – reduction in July 2017, according to EX-YU Aviation News.

Romania’s Henri Coanda International Airport in the capital Bucharest is also in the optimization phase, according to Airport Carbon Accreditation’s website.

Regional airports at the Level 2 – reduction phase are those in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, the Croatian capital Zagreb, the Bulgarian capital Sofia, and the Albanian capital Tirana. The reduction step of Airport Carbon Accreditation requires carbon management and progress towards a reduced carbon footprint.

Airports in the region at the Level 1 – mapping stage, which recognizes and accredits the efforts to manage and reduce carbon emissions, are Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu International Airport in Romania and Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia.

Four regional airports have reached Level 4 – neutrality stage

The highest level of accreditation is Level 4 – neutrality, which requires neutralizing remaining direct carbon emissions by offsetting, according to the Airport Carbon Accreditation website.

Airports in the region in this phase are Greece’s Athens International Airport and three airports in Turkey – Antalya Airport, Ankara Esenboga International Airport, and Izmir Adnan Menderes International Airport.

Achieving carbon neutrality, or net zero CO2 emissions over an entire year, is in almost all cases impossible for an airport without external help. For this reason, airports look to carbon offsetting, i.e. providing funds or resources to projects that reduce CO2 and make up for the emissions that one is not able to eliminate, such as replacing coal-fired facilities with wind facilities.