The Edmonton International Airport has become the first airport to join The Climate Pledge to be carbon neutral by 2040.
The pledge is an initiative founded in 2019 by Amazon and Global Optimism and currently involves more than 100 companies and organizations that aim to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change.
“Climate change is a real and serious concern, and one of the biggest issues of our time. It is all our responsibility to acknowledge and address global sustainability for future generations,” Edmonton International Airport president and CEO Tom Ruth said in a statement.
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The EIA becomes the third Canadian-based organization to sign The Climate Pledge, which means the airport now commits to taking action to address reducing carbon emissions.
“By signing the Climate Pledge, Edmonton Airports is demonstrating to our community and the world that we are dedicated to sustainability and to reducing carbon emissions,” Ruth said. “Sustainability is inherent in all that we do, and we continue to make significant progress towards our goal of net zero.”
As part of the pledge, EIA said it will measure and report greenhouse gas emissions regularly, implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement and neutralize remaining emissions offsets to achieve annual carbon emissions by 2040.
“We are pleased to welcome the Edmonton International Airport as the first airport to sign The Climate Pledge, joining more than 100 companies around the world who are committed to addressing climate change and saving the planet for future generations,” said Sumegha Kumar, Amazon Canadian customer fulfillment operations director.
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“The Edmonton International Airport is showing important leadership in committing to the ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, and we look forward to working alongside them.”
The Edmonton airport said the move will have no impact on passengers, including no additional mandatory fees or costs.
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According to the EIA, about 70 per cent of its CO2e emissions are related to electricity use, but the airport said it has reduced its energy intensity usage by 50 per cent in the past 20 years.
The airport said several carbon emission reduction projects are already underway or will soon begin, including the construction of an airport-based solar farm starting in 2022, the implementation of power units that aim to reduce electricity and heat emissions by about 20 per cent and replacing lightbulbs and fixtures with LED models since 2015 to reduce energy usage.
