St Tropez Airport is claiming net zero carbon emissions, the first airport in France to do so without using offsetting.
This follows the airport’s owner, Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur, becoming the first level 4+ carbon-neutral airport group in France.
Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur has made a firm commitment to achieving net zero emissions, without any offset, by 2030 – 20 years earlier than the worldwide commitments made under the terms of the Paris Agreement.
The Group started its reforestation operations at Golfe de Saint-Tropez airport and adjacent to the Cannes-Mandelieu and Nice Cote d’Azur airports in 2020, creating natural carbon sinks capable of absorbing up to 300 tons of CO2 equivalent per year as the trees grow.
This is in addition to the Group’s three airports reducing their direct emissions: -4.4% for Nice, -20% for Cannes-Mandelieu and -27% for Golfe de Saint-Tropez.
Franck Goldnadel, chairman of Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur, said, “Receiving the Airport Carbon Accreditation level 4+ is not just a medal or a pretence covering up a greenwashing operation. It represents international recognition of a sincere commitment and an ambitious and unprecedented action plan.
“When we reduce the absolute value of our direct emissions, we help to protect our region. This involves taking numerous actions, being innovative and looking for solutions that help to reconcile air transport with air quality requirements on a daily basis.
“In the future, low-emission aeroplanes will take off and land on totally decarbonised airports. This is the course of history, and we want to be its laboratory.”
Saint-Tropez: a showcase
Since Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur group took control of Golfe de Saint-Tropez in 2013, the airport has slashed its direct emissions by 62%, a saving of 42 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
In 2020, the airport’s residual emissions totalled less than 17 tons, as a large-scale operation was launched to reforest 1 hectare of woodland, representing the capacity to absorb almost 30 tons of CO2 equivalent.
These actions enable the airport to achieve net zero emissions carbon-neutrality without any offset, and to ultimately absorb part of the emissions from semi-cruising aircraft.
Goldnadel added, “We have used Golfe de Saint-Tropez airport as a laboratory for new ideas and innovations, where we can test solutions and implement our carbon-neutral policy, thanks to its size and the fact that we conduct all the ground operations ourselves.”
Among the innovations:
- Replacing high-energy light bulbs with LEDs
- Creating light wells in offices to limit the use of artificial lighting
- Insulating certain parts of the buildings
- Consuming only renewable energy
- Electrifying the fleet of vehicles and runway machinery
- Four vehicles have been equipped with anti-smog devices, which immediately reduced emissions of NOx and fine particles.
It’s not just emissions. Golfe de Saint-Tropez airport is also looking after its broader natural ecosystem by replacing CCTV cameras with infrared cameras. That makes it possible to switch off the powerful security spotlights.
Without this artificial light, and with the silence produced by closing the runways at night, local bird life is able to enjoy the calm it needs. Along the same lines, the measures taken to protect the plants, wildlife and the entire environment in the immediate vicinity of the airport will be stepped up.