At the 29th ACI EUROPE Annual Congress in Cyprus – the annual gathering for airport CEOs across Europe TAV Airports signed a landmark commitment to become net zero for their carbon emissions by 2050 at two of its airports, Izmir Adnan Menderes and Ankara Esenboga in Turkey.
This commitment was undertaken as part of ACI EUROPE, the trade association for the European airport industry, announcing a Resolution formally committing the industry to achieve net zero by 2050, at the latest. The collective pledge – further undersigned by 194 airports, operated by 40 airport operators across 24 countries – marks a significant step change in the climate action ambitions for the airport industry.
Sani Sener, CEO and President TAV Airports said “Sustainability is at the core of our business model at TAV. We strive to create the highest value for our stakeholders while minimizing our impact on the environment. Ankara Esenboga and Izmir Adnan Menderes have achieved Level 3+ Neutrality status for the last three years at the Airport Carbon Accreditation Program. We believe that contributing to efforts to counter climate change is our responsibility to future generations. We aim to confirm with the highest standards and best practices in our industry.”
Dr Michael Kerkloh, President of ACI EUROPE and CEO of Munich Airport commented “Europe’s airports have been leading climate action with annual reductions announced every year for the past decade². 43 of them have actually become carbon neutral, supported by the global industry standard Airport Carbon Accreditation. However, today’s commitment brings a new dimension to this – no offsets. Crucially, with its NetZero2050 commitment, the airport industry is aligning itself with the Paris Agreement and the new Climate goal adopted just last week by the EU.”
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said “Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said “The IPCC Special Report from last October is unequivocal about the need to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century. We need all sectors of society working towards this ultimate goal. It is therefore encouraging to see the airport industry voluntarily raising its ambitions and we look forward to working with this vital sector.”
The deadline of 2050 is aligned with the latest IPCC evidence and the decarbonisation strategy set out by the European Commission and adopted by the Council of the European Union.
There are already 3 net zero airports in Europe, Luleå, Ronneby and Visby all operated by Swedavia.
