Airports Council International has unveiled two further levels of achievement in its global Airport Carbon Accreditation program: Level 4 Transformation and Level 4+ Transition.
The organization says the introduction of these two new levels marks a shift in the ambition level of the program. The existing Level 1 Mapping through to Level 3+ Neutrality do allow for flexibility in the magnitude of reductions achieved. By contrast, ACI states that Levels 4 and 4+ set out further obligations, namely:
• Alignment with the Paris Agreement: requiring airports to align their carbon management strategies and plans with the ambition of the Paris Agreement, according to which global warming should be limited to below 2⁰C and ideally 1.5⁰C. These objectives have been translated into emissions reduction scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and airports will have to define their reduction targets and associated emissions pathways accordingly.
• Extended carbon footprint: additional emissions sources have to be included, notably covering all significant operational emissions from third parties, including airlines.
• Enhanced stakeholder engagement: requirements related to stakeholder engagement are tightened, with effective partnerships oriented toward delivering emissions reductions coming to the fore.
Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, remarked, “During the worst of the pandemic, airports around the world continued to achieve accreditation at all levels of the program. In fact, since last March, 29 airports joined the program for the first time and a further 22 achieved new levels of accreditation. We’re incredibly proud of their achievements.
“The introduction of these two further levels sets the bar yet higher. They bring the program into line with the latest scientific and policy developments of recent years, and quite rightly reflect enhanced public expectations of the societal and environmental role we play. And already, airports are showing themselves able to step up.”
ACI also announced that two airports have already reached Level 4+, the first in their respective regions to do so: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in the USA and Indira Gandhi International Airport in India for their achievements.