“Climate change is not a distant threat; it is a reality that demands our immediate attention and action. The decisions we make now will shape the world we leave behind for generations to come.”
With these words, ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar launched the organization’s two-day Seminar on Green Airports in Athens. The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Greece, Mr. Christos Staikouras and the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Ms. Alexandra Sdoukou, opened the event on 18 April 2024, which was organized with the support of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority.
Encompassing a broad spectrum of environmental airport activities and operations, the Seminar offered a diverse range of stakeholders a crucially important opportunity to engage in knowledge transfer through the sharing of their environmental initiatives, experiences and lessons learned. This translated to increased awareness and enhanced dialogue and cooperation at a time when progress towards decarbonization is more urgently needed than ever.
Ms. Jane Hupe, ICAO’s Deputy Director on Environment emphasized that “climate change is a reality that demands our immediate action. As the aviation sector, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to be a driving force of change”.
Building on the momentum
A key focus of the Green Airports Seminar was on identifying pragmatic pathways for accelerating progress on the implementation of these landmark decisions.
Discussions encompassed ambitious net-zero goals and roadmaps for airports, as well as the transition to sustainable aviation fuels, lower carbon aviation fuels, and cleaner energy sources. The Seminar also covered emerging environmental subjects, such as innovations in airport management, circular economy, biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
The opportunity and challenge of financing green projects and innovations was a cross-cutting theme, with a focus on the importance of connecting and facilitating project developers’ access to public and private funding from financial institutions.
Dr. Christos Tsitouras, Governor-Director General, Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, highlighted that “this event created a dialogue and synergies between various stakeholders. The Seminar gave the international community the opportunity to engage with not only airports, airlines, manufacturers, but also fuel producers, investors, banks, associations, international organizations, among other stakeholders”.
