Bristol Airport has published plans to聽 become carbon neutral following public concern around its expansion.
The airport is now aiming to be carbon neutral by 2025 -聽 five years earlier than planned -聽 after concerns were raised that its development plans could be inconsistent with climate emergencies declared by local authorities in the West of England.
The carbon roadmap sets out how the airport will achieve the ambitious target and includes a range of initiatives such as the use of electric vehicles and a shift to renewable energy sources.聽
There are also plans for a new 鈥榗arbon levy鈥 on vehicles using the Express Drop Off - the least sustainable way to get to the airport.
The levy is being introduced later this year and the proceeds will be used to offset emissions from all other journeys made to the airport.
Emissions from flights will be tackled through the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which starts in 2021 and aims to stabilise emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels.
Bristol Airport鈥檚 objective is to become net zero by 2050 in line with the commitment made by the European airport industry last month.
Dave Lees, chief executive of Bristol Airport, said: 鈥淥ur carbon roadmap sets out how we are responding to the challenge of climate change.
鈥淚t combines ambitious targets with clear actions and a timeline against which we will chart our progress.鈥
Mr Lees admits that decarbonising aviation will not be easy, but says the plan shows the airport is 鈥渟erious鈥 about reducing emissions.
But what about the airlines based at the airport?
Bristol Airport is the biggest hub for easyJet outside of London - and the airline says it is already taking action, including working to produce an all-electric plane for short-haul flights.
A spokesperson said: 鈥淲e have modern, fuel efficient planes; we fly in ways which avoid unnecessary use of fuel; and we fly planes full of passengers. All these things help to reduce carbon emissions.
鈥淔or the longer term we are also working with partners on new technologies to radically reduce the carbon footprint of flying.鈥
The airline says it has reduced emissions by more than 32 per cent since 2000 and is aiming to bring this down further.
They added: 鈥淲e believe reducing carbon emissions is a joint effort and we would like to see airports incentivising airlines who are working to tackle their carbon emissions.鈥
KLM, which also flies from Bristol, says they are doing 鈥渁s much as they can鈥 with their Fly Responsibly sustainability programme but says the industry needs to work together.
A spokesperson said: 鈥淥nly when we work together across the entire industry can we make real progress.
鈥淟ike any industry, aviation needs to do all within its power to minimise the impact it has on the environment and maximise the positive impact it has on society... we propose that as an industry, we come together, like we did on safety, and overcome this challenge.鈥
A spokesperson for Tui added: 鈥淲e continually working hard to reduce carbon-footprint by investing in a number of different programmes.鈥
The CBI has welcomed the news. A spokesperson added: "Net Zero and carbon neutral are not promises they take lightly, and I鈥檓 confident that through research and investment, knowledge exchange and partnership, they will be able to identify the best solutions to decarbonise airport operations.鈥
Bristol Airport is planning to expand to handle 12 million passengers a year.
