India’s Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that 25 airports in the country have achieved 100% green energy usage, while 121 more will become carbon-neutral by 2025. Scindia made these comments during his virtual address at the two-day EU-India aviation summit, as he was unable to attend in person due to Covid-19. The minister emphasized that India and the European Union share a common goal of mitigating climate change, and are taking measures to minimise the carbon footprint and emissions from the aviation industry.
The Indian government has set a target to encourage airports to use 100% green energy by 2024 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Carbon-neutral airports operate on green energy such as hydro and solar power, and offset any residual CO2 emissions. The minister further informed that the government has mandated the use of renewable energy in bid documents for upcoming airports. The Indian airline operators have conducted demonstration flights using bio-fuel blended with ATF.
The EU-India aviation summit began on Thursday, and will focus on air transport relations and the post-Covid recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety, and developing unmanned aircraft systems. The summit aims to bring together top-level policy makers, industry executives and stakeholders from both regions.
Scindia also invited EU players to partner with India in developing adaptive technologies to support the objective of tackling emissions from the aviation industry. He noted that India has reformed the regulatory mechanism to promote aircraft manufacturing in the country, reduced GST rates on MRO services, and allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment into the sector. The minister urged EU industry players to tap into these opportunities and become a part of the fastest-growing aviation market in the world.
