80 percent fewer emissions
Hamburg Airport declares itself CO2 neutral
03/23/2022, 5:25 p.m
Because Hamburg’s airport has been able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 80 percent since 2009, it has declared itself Germany’s first CO2-neutral airport. However, the certificate only relates to on-site operations, not to air traffic. The environmental lobby calls it a “bluff”.
Hamburg Airport was the first German airport to declare itself CO2-neutral. The airport company presented a certificate based on the criteria of the European industry association Airports Council International Europe (ACI). “Since 2009, Hamburg Airport has reduced its annual CO2 emissions by almost 80 percent – from 40,000 tons to 8,700 tons,” it said in a statement.
“In order to fully compensate for the remaining CO2 emissions, Hamburg Airport still has to invest in high-quality compensation certificates.” The certificate covers the ongoing operations of the airport itself, not the ongoing flight operations, which account for the vast majority of emissions of the climate-damaging gas CO2 in air traffic.
Accusation of “show event”
Violent criticism came from the environmental lobby. Associations and initiatives called it “deceptive packaging” and “show event”. The main accusation: The CO2 balance hides the huge greenhouse effects for which actual air traffic will be responsible for decades to come. “The public should not get the impression that flying is no longer a problem just because the airport itself operates in a climate-neutral manner,” said Malte Siegert, Hamburg’s Nabu chairman.
The airport company named less energy consumption, innovative technologies, nature conservation projects and compensation certificates as building blocks for CO2-neutral airport operations. The airport covers around 70 percent of its thermal energy requirements with the airport’s own combined heat and power plant. “This is highly efficient and runs on natural gas. The purchased green electricity is also 100 percent demonstrably CO2-neutral.” In addition, the vehicle fleet on the apron has been almost completely converted to alternative drives and fuels.
After all, the airport is “currently planting an additional 50 hectares of new forest” on its forest site in Kaltenkirchen, around 30 kilometers away in Schleswig-Holstein. Trees bind CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow and thus make a contribution to climate protection.