A new T&E study finds expansions across twenty of Europe's largest airports overshoot the 1.7 °C emissions budget by up to three times
Planned expansions at twenty of Europe’s largest airports are incompatible with national climate targets and global warming limits. According to new research by T&E, the planned increases in air traffic across ten European countries will result in each airport exceeding its fair-share 1.7°C carbon budget by two to three times. On current growth plans, European aviation will exhaust its remaining 1.5°C carbon budget this year, and its 1.7°C budget by 2033.
Major airport expansions are underway, or have been announced, in large European cities including London, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Dublin, Frankfurt and Brussels. Airlines and airports tell governments that they can expand and fly more passengers, while still meeting Europe’s climate targets, on the promise that cleaner fuel and more efficient aircraft will cut enough emissions. However, the T&E analysis shows that every airport will exceed its carbon budget, even when accounting for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) uptake and more efficient aircraft. (....)