AIRPORTS Council International (ACI) has certified Shenzhen International Airport with its ACA level II accreditation for reducing carbon emissions, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

The Shenzhen airport, having pushed itself to a new echelon in carbon management, became the second airport on the Chinese mainland to gain the recognition. The airport earned the ACA level I accreditation in 2018.

In 2009, ACI Europe launched Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA), allowing the assessment and recognition of participating airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their carbon emissions. The goal of ACA is to reduce carbon emissions and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality in airport operations.

There are four categories for which airports can be accredited, namely levels I, II, III and IV. The level increases based on the intensity of reform efforts, from carbon emissions mapping, reduction and optimization to carbon neutrality, respectively.

So far, 78 airports worldwide have achieved ACA level II accreditation, including Beijing Capital International Airport and Shenzhen International Airport on the Chinese mainland.

The accreditation has verified the Shenzhen airport’s carbon emissions from the past three years. Statistics show that the Shenzhen airport cut carbon dioxide emissions by 10.96 percent in 2018 compared to 2015.

(Zhang Yu)