Birmingham Airport has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2033.
The airport said it aims to minimise offsets and maximise on-site renewable generation, though CEO Nick Barton admitted he does not yet “have all the answers”.
“Technology is changing at some pace and the movement to a net zero economy itself is driving innovation across the energy and transportation industry, and we are going to take advantage of this,” said Barton.
“Over the next six to twelve months we will be working to revise our existing carbon management plan and develop a roadmap. This will allow us to set and prioritise genuine carbon reduction objectives rather than carbon offsetting schemes, as we see this as the least favourable option.
“We don’t have all the answers about how we will hit this target, but we are confident that through innovation and collaboratively working with industry, government, manufacturers, on-site partners and employees, we can reach our target by 2033.”
The airport acknowledged that there is greater concern about the emissions from flights than ground operations, and that airports are enablers of those emissions.
Barton said Birmingham will continue to “fully support the UK’s Airspace Modernisation programme, which the Committee on Climate Change advise is required to be delivered if the UK is going to achieve net-zero by 2050.
The airport plans to publish an updated sustainability strategy later this month.
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