Delhi airport records lowest carbon emissions: Study

Delhi airport is followed by the Kuala Lumpur airport (5.83 million tonnes), Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (6.53 million tonnes) and Dallas’s Fort Worth airport (7 million tonnes)

Published on: Dec 21, 2021, 22:59:32 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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Delhi airport records the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emission among airports handling over 60 million passengers per year across the world, a study has found.

The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said the airport has adopted the globally recognised Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation framework which helps airports to manage their greenhouse gases effectively. (Representational image/HT Photo)

The study by ‘Airport Tracker’, a new online tool by non-profit organisations International Council on Clean Transportation, Overseas Development Institute, and Transport & Environment, showed that Delhi airport releases 5.53 million tonnes of CO2 annually, which is nearly half of the emissions at Singapore’s Changi airport, South Korea’s Incheon Airport, and the Frankfurt and Hong Kong airports, each of which produce over 10 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Delhi airport is followed by the Kuala Lumpur airport (5.83 million tonnes), Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (6.53 million tonnes) and Dallas’s Fort Worth airport (7 million tonnes).

The study analysed CO2 emissions by aircraft and passenger-related movements at 1,300 largest global airports that account for over 99% of the global airline traffic.

The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said the airport has adopted the globally recognised Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation framework which helps airports to manage their greenhouse gases effectively.

Among the measures taken to reduce CO2 emissions include the use of renewable energy through its 7.84 MW solar plant on the airside, usage of green building concepts, using low emission technologies and electric vehicles, among other. More recently, the airport has adopted a green taxiing device – the Taxibot -- which allows aircraft to be taken for taxiing without switching on the plane.

As part of its expansion, Terminal-1 of the airport, which is being redeveloped, is also being built as per LEED green building standards -- a green rating system -- which includes efficient lighting systems and a double glassed façade.

It is also developing an elevated Eastern Cross Taxiway (ECT), which will connect runway 29/11 to Terminal 1 for aircraft movement through a much shorter route, thereby reducing 55,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

DIAL had recently announced that the airport has set a target of achieving ‘net zero carbon emission’ by 2030.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More