Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Reduction of CO 2 emissions from airports through new airport management (Exploratory opinion)
Date: 2008-03-13
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: air transport, airport, environmental impact, quality of the environment, reduction of gas emissions, transport infrastructure

9.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 204/39

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Reduction of CO2 emissions from
airports through new airport management (Exploratory opinion)

(2008/C 204/10)

In a letter dated 4 July 2007, the Portuguese Ministry of Transport, in the context of the Portuguese EU
Presidency, asked the EESC, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw
up an exploratory opinion on:

Reduction of CO2 emissions from airports through new airport management.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 19 February 2008. The rapporteur
was Mr McDONOGH.

At its 443rd plenary session, held on 12 and 13 March 2008 (meeting of 13 March 2008), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 103 votes with 5 abstentions.

1. Recommendations

— Encourage airports to adopt management strategies for the
reduction of airport carbon dioxide emissions through the
introduction of an air quality model where all sources of
NOx are identified and targets for CO2 reduction are estab-
lished. This model should be calibrated against on site air
quality monitoring points. Key areas to be included in the
model are airfield, airport buildings (terminal and associated
service facilities), car parks and surface access.

— The adoption of recognised building standards and interna-
tional best practice associated with the building and opera-
tion of airport infrastructure should be encouraged to mini-
mise the associated carbon footprint. Key examples are insu-
lation, maximising use of natural light and solar gain, rain-
water harvesting, solar energy, combined heat and power
units (CCHP), intelligent building management systems and
heat exchangers.

— Encourage airports to use energy sources, which have been

generated from renewable resources.

— Encourage the use of environmentally friendly airport
service vehicles at airports where there are large concentra-
tions of service vehicle activity associated with aircraft turn-
arounds. Airports could also encourage the use of environ-
mentally friendly vehicle use by passengers through the use
of differential parking charges and preferential parking loca-
tions.

— Encourage airports to minimise waste generation at airports
through the provision of enhanced airport recycling facil-
ities. The identification of waste generated per passenger as a
key environmental indicator would be beneficial.

— Minimise the impacts associated with car travel to airports
through the provision of sustainable transport alternatives
for passengers and staff alike, examples would include train
links, bus links, car sharing and cycling initiatives.

— Encourage airports where possible to improve air traffic
management procedures at and in the vicinity of the airport
to reduce aircraft fuel burn.

— Auxiliary engines where possible should not be left running
on the ground. Fixed ground power and pre-conditioned air
should be made available from the terminal building.

— Discourage or ban use of older engine aircraft, which are
inefficient in fuel, by increasing landing and take off fees
appropriate to those aircraft, through differential charges.

— Discourage the use of nosier aircraft through the adoption
of aircraft noise classification schemes and associated noise
quota schemes at airports.

— Emissions reduction through a systems approach — while
preserving safety as the top priority all
factors must be
considered, including airframe and engine design and opera-
tions, trade-offs, alternative fuels, ground services, airport
capacity and air traffic management.

— Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) through which aircraft
begin a constant descent at a higher altitude, moving
groundward steadily, as opposed to a staggered approach
that requires the aircraft to fly level for longer periods and
thereby requires greater thrust to maintain constant speed
and consequently burns more fuel. This continuous descent
means that aircraft descend at a more efficient speed, there-
fore reducing fuel burn. The impact of this approach on air
quality is likely to be within 15 to 20 miles of the airfield.

— Turbo propeller planes to be used on all journeys less than
500 km and where routes support less than 70 passengers
per sector and range permits.

— Reducing fuel consumption by switching off 1-2 engines

when taxing to and from the runway.

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Official Journal of the European Union

9.8.2008

2. Introduction

2.1
Aviation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions. Emissions currently account for about 3 % (1) of total
EU greenhouse gas emissions, and have increased by 87 % since
1990. The rapid growth in aviation emissions contrasts with the
success of many other sectors of the economy in reducing emis-
sions. Without action, the growth in emissions from flights
from EU airports will by 2012 cancel out more than a quarter
of the 8 % emission reduction the EU-15 must achieve to reach
its Kyoto Protocol target. By 2020, aviation emissions are likely
to more than double from present levels.

Aviation stimulates the economy,

2.2
trade and tourism,
generates business opportunities and enhances the potential for
improving the quality of life in both developed and developing
regions.

once an hour depending on the type of aircraft used, or make
them available to another carrier should be in place to improve
the situation.

2.8
The Commission's proposal (SESAR) to establish a single
open sky for Europe unifying the separate national air traffic
control arrangements pertaining at present offers the potential
for a major increase in the efficiency of use of air space on the
approach and take-off thereby diminishing stacking and holding
on the ground i.e. waiting for landing and take-off slots respec-
tively.
the International Air Transport Association,
predicts that 12 % of global CO2 emissions by aircraft could be
saved if air traffic control systems were more efficient). The
Committee urges all concerned to make rapid progress with the
negotiations to establish this new regime, and not to allow it to
be held back through delaying tactics by sectional interests.

(IATA,

3. Aviation — A source of noise and emissions

2.3
Aviation transports annually 2 billion passengers and
40 % of interregional exported goods (by value). 40 % of inter-
national tourists travel by air. Aviation generates 29 million jobs
worldwide.
Its global economic impact is estimated at USD
2 960 billion, equivalent to 8 % of world GDP.

Aviation's environmental impact is estimated to contri-
3.1
bute about 2 % of global greenhouse gas emissions and could
double by 2050.

2.4
The airport should be an integral part of the local infra-
structure, and play a leading role in the protection of the envir-
onment in the locality.

2.5
The efficiency and utilisation to the maximum of airports
infrastructure depends highly on air traffic control. The intro-
duction and focus on efficient air traffic control procedures
both at and in the vicinity of the airport can limit the amount
of fuel wasted in take-off, landing and taxing at the airport.

3.2
The aviation industry has surpassed most other industry
sectors in reducing noise and emissions per unit of production
over the years. Fuel efficiency is currently improving by about
1-2 % a year, and emissions account for 2 % of total volume.
The aviation growth makes 5 % a year, while energy efficiency
brings savings of less than 1,5 %. However, aviation is predicted
to grow more quickly than this, so technological improvements
by themselves won't be enough to solve the problem.

4. Noise and air quality around airports

2.6 Many airports like Gatwick, Paris Orly, Milan Linate, etc.,
are already desperately short of capacity. By 2010 another 15 or
so European airports will have joined them. Britain's Civil Avia-
tion Authority, among others, consider that slots should be
auctioned to airlines and then traded in a transparent secondary
market to encourage better utilisation of a scarce resource.

The aviation industry is committed to implementing the
4.1
International Civil Aviation Organisation's
(ICAO) balanced
approach to noise management, which aims to alleviate com-
munity exposure in the most cost-effective way.

2.7 More efficient use of the airport infrastructure and its
associated ground facilities could be made by using larger
aircraft where feasible. Even though many flights are full, the
average number of passengers on each aircraft using many
airports, is only 68. The aircraft are too small, and there is little
incentive for airlines to bring in bigger, more modern aircraft,
as the airports cannot be priced to encourage this type of effi-
ciency. A combination of market mechanisms and efficiency
rules, such that carriers must use their departure gates at least

(1) See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/aviation_en.htm.

Reduction of noise at

source through technological
4.2
progress is key in this regard, and impressive improvements
have been made over the past decades and further progress is
targeted for the coming 15 years. The (EC) issued a Directive (2)
which established principles for managing aircraft noise and
including provision for the
introduced operating restrictions,
withdrawal of the noisiest Chapter 3 aircraft, at EC airports, the
outcome of this directive should now be reviewed.

(2) Directive 2002/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 26 March 2002 on the establishment of rules and procedures with
regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at
Community airports (Text with EEA relevance) OJ L 85, 28.3.2002, p.
40–46.

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Airports

and air navigation service providers

4.3
are
committed to implementing the continuous descent approach
and other low noise flight procedures wherever appropriate,
while safeguarding runway capacity. This has been identified as
a key area of improvement for CO2 emission reductions in and
around airports.

Governments must ensure preventive land-use planning

4.4
and management measures around airports.

transport options

for getting to the

Local air quality concerns call for comprehensive action
4.5
targeting all sources of emissions in the air and on the ground,
including activities — such as industry and road traffic that are
not directly attributable to air transport, but are a by-product of
servicing the airport. Linking airports to the train networks
should be encouraged thereby establishing environmentally
sustainable
airport,
enhanced bus and train networks are a key factor in this regard
also. Airports should encourage the use of environmentally
friendly cars in their car parks, by differential pricing and prefer-
ential parking locations. Airport service vehicles should as a
minimum operate on cleaner energy sources like gas and electri-
city, a number of vehicle types use battery power presently, this
should be expanded further where feasible for the specific
operational requirement. The transport of staff to and from the
airport can be a significant car
trip generator, alternative
options should be encouraged like staff busses, car sharing, stag-
gered shift patterns avoiding peak times and if feasible, cycling
for the airport's staff.

5. Aviation contribution to climate change

5.1
Aviation accounts for approx. 2-4 % of European CO2
emissions from fossil fuel use. This could reach approximately
5 % or more by 2050 according to an Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast. It is also noted that growth
in aviation emissions could by 2012, offset more than a quarter
of the EU's environmental contribution made under the Kyoto
Protocol. Reaching international agreement on action is proving
difficult but the proposed Directive is intended to provide a
model for action at a global
level and is the only initiative
which offers this possibility.

5.2
80 % of aviation's greenhouse gas emissions are related
to passenger flights exceeding 1 500 km/900 miles for which
there is no practical alternative.

Aviation is committed to actively exploring the progres-
5.3
sive introduction of alternative fuels such as biomass to liquid
(BTL) to further reduce CO2 emissions.

5.4
Technological progress, infrastructure improvements and
operational good practices at airports are currently considered
the most efficient and cost effective means to address climate
change concerns, next to appropriate market based measures.

Technological progress has practically eliminated visible
4.6
smoke and hydrocarbons, while oxides of nitrogen from aircraft
engines have been progressively reduced by 50 % over the past
15 years. An extra 80 % reduction in nitrogen is targeted by
2020 for new engine technology.

Airports need international standards and global policies,

5.5
not piecemeal or short-sighted fixes.

Fuel-cell systems are under development, which could
4.7
replace on-board auxiliary power units (APU) and thus reduce
emissions by up to 75 % per unit.

4.8
Airports and airlines are committed to using cleaner and
more efficient ground service equipment and vehicles, while
also pressing governments and local authorities to provide
cleaner surface access to airports — like trains or metros.

5.6
Airport design could play a positive role in emission
reduction, particularly the re-design of taxiways and piers to
reduce the amount of congestion on the airfield. The terminal
building design should minimise energy requirements as in heat
and air conditioning, and consider the use of solar panels where
feasible, maximising the use of natural light and solar gain, the
use of combined heat and power systems (CCHP) and heat
transfer systems, the incorporation of rain water harvesting in
to building designs to be used in toilets, aircraft wash, etc. The
temperatures in the terminal buildings should be efficiently
controlled,
to reduce energy wastage in over heating/over
cooling.

Aircraft traditionally run one of their engines while they

4.9
are parked on the ground to power the plane.

5.7
Airport operational management should target the reduc-
tion of waste generated per passenger throughput, through the
use of enhanced recycling initiatives both within the airports
direct control and through incorporation into Service Level
Agreements with airlines and other key service partners.

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5.8
The Directive bringing aviation within the remit of the
European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) (3) may positively
increase public awareness, offer significant new carbon reduc-
tion resources and provide a measure for internalising those
external
costs which hitherto the aviation
industry has been able to ignore. Given the level and volatility
of carbon prices it is unlikely to have a major impact on the
continuing growth of air traffic and emissions.

environmental

6. Conclusions — next steps

Tackling airports environmental

6.1
impact in a proactive,
timely and cost effective manner requires the full co-operation
and agreement of
international bodies, governments and
industry stakeholders.

Consolidating long term environmental

6.3
for
airports, based on reliable and verifiable data and requirements
is an urgent priority. All aspects of the airport process (air
traffic, buildings, surface access etc.) should be included in these
targets.

targets

6.4
The creation of new airport infrastructure to reduce fuel
burn before takeoff and after landing should be a key design
parameter for all future airport design. Initiatives like the provi-
sion of holding grids at larger airports should be researched
further and provided where feasible,
to which commercial
airplanes would be towed — engines off before takeoff, only to
start their engines about 10 minutes before takeoff.

6.2
Emissions reduction through a systems approach —
while preserving safety as the top priority all factors must be
including airframe and engine design and opera-
considered,
tions, trade-offs, alternative fuels, ground services, airport capa-
city and air traffic management.

6.5
Continuous descent approach through which aircraft
begin descent at a higher altitude, moving groundward steadily,
as opposed to a staggered approach that burns excessive fuel.
This continuous descent means that aircraft descend at a more
efficient speed, therefore reducing fuel burn.

Brussels, 13 March 2008.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

(3) COM(2006) 818 final — 2006/0304 (COD) and the Committee's

opinion OJ C 175, 27.7.2007, p. 5.