Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Bristol Airport set to become carbon neutral by end of 2021
BRISTOL Airport has announced it will become carbon neutral by 2021 – four years ahead of schedule.
Chief executive David Lees said the airport would also be the UK’s first net zero airport, without needing to offset, by 2030, which is 20 years before the Government’s own target.
The announcement was made at a business breakfast with industry leaders and politicians including Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, the leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Toby Savage, Michael Cervenka, president of Vertical Aerospace, which is developing an all-electric ‘flying taxi’ and James Richmond, advanced air mobility lead at engineering firm Atkins.
Bristol Airport announced three commitments:
To be a net zero airfield; have net zero buildings; operate a net zero fleet of vehicles.
Responding to a question from Liam Fox MP, Mr Lees said he estimated carbon neutral short-haul flights could begin by early 2030s and no later than 2035.
“Today is another milestone in looking towards the future showcasing how businesses in the region collaborating together using the latest technology and innovative solutions
will meet decarbonisation targets,” he said.
“The aviation industry is taking its responsibilities seriously in addressing climate change challenges, working together to create the solutions now and in the future.”
In May, Mr Lees said the airport was “making inroads” with some of its energy coming from offshore wind and investments in onsite solar, with some on top of buildings at the airport.
A consortium led by Atkins, and including Bristol Airport, is now exploring the feasibility of air taxi services in the South West using electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL).
Last week Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace announced 1,000 preorders
for its ‘flying taxis’ after confirming it will become publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael Cervenka, president of Vertical Aerospace said: “eVTOLs represent by far the largest nearterm commercial opportunity to revolutionise urban air mobility and electrify air travel.
“When compared to helicopters, eVTOLs offer significant improvements in safety, noise and operating costs whilst also, and crucially, making air travel carbon free.
“They represent a huge global market opportunity and will change the way people think about flying through the skies. Vertical strongly believes in a collaborative approach to capitalise on this opportunity.”
Mr Rees welcomed the news and said the airport was showing “leadership” on how the sector could deliver on testing carbon goals. In an increasingly interconnected world we must harness technology and innovation to reach our goal of carbon neutrality,” he said.
“Bristol’s aerospace sector is well placed to continue to lead on solutions to this challenge.”
Meanwhile, Mr Savage said South Gloucestershire had a “proud and internationally significant” history in aerospace and would continue to host the research and development which was “critical” to retain the region’s status on the world stage.
Mr Richmond added: “De-carbonising aviation is an enormous challenge that requires multi-disciplinary global action from across the entire ecosystem, working together towards common goals and with robust policies in place.”
The news comes a month after the Bristol Airport confirmed it is planning to relaunch a direct flight to New York in the next three-to-five years.
Earlier in June, Bristol Airport confirmed it had swung to an annual loss of nearly £30 million as passenger numbers plummeted amid the pandemic.
Before the Covid crisis, the airport had expected another year of growth, with passenger numbers estimated to be around 9.3 million in 2020. Instead, travellers through Bristol Airport fell 75.6% to just 2.2 million.