Aviation, climate and inequality: The case for better data

The aviation sector accounts for approximately 2.5% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions and, when non-CO₂ climate impacts are considered, has been responsible for around 4% of global warming to date (p.4). Between 2023 and 2024, aviation saw the largest percentage increase in activity (10.4%) and emissions (6.4%) among hard-to-abate sectors (p.5).

Just 1% of the world’s population is responsible for 50% of global emissions from commercial aviation (p.6). Private aviation emits between five and 14 times more CO₂ per passenger than commercial flights, with a four-hour private jet flight almost equal to the annual emissions of an average EU citizen (p.7).

Passenger demand is projected to grow from 9.0 trillion revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs) in 2024 to 21.9 trillion RPKs in 2050, and aviation is projected to consume 15% of the remaining carbon budget associated with 1.7ºC of warming (p.6).

Airports: Drivers of emissions and points of intervention

Airport expansion is identified as a key barrier to addressing aviation’s climate impact. Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions typically constitute less than 10% of an airport’s total climate impact (p.10). Of 650 accredited airports, just 30 achieved Level 5 Airport Carbon Accreditation, meaning only 2.3% of airports in the Airport Tracker have a plan to address Scope 3 GHG emissions (p.10). The UK’s mandate for 10% of aviation fuel to be ‘sustainable’ by 2030 appears optimistic given the figure currently stands at just 1.2% (p.11).

The evolution of the Airport Tracker

The Airport Tracker is an interactive web-based tool providing publicly accessible data on airport environmental impacts. The third edition focuses on 2023 data and includes CO₂ from passenger, freight and private jet flights, upstream emissions, and additional local air pollutants — NOₓ, PM₂.₅, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide — for the 1,300 busiest airports globally (p.12–13).

Global distribution of emissions

In 2023, 34.6 million flights from the 1,300 airports generated 1,026 million tonnes of CO₂ — equivalent to the fifth largest national emitter if aviation were a country (p.11, 14). Asia-Pacific (32%), North America (27%) and Europe (24%) dominate. Airports in the United States (25%) and China (13%) together account for nearly 40% of total CO₂ emissions (p.14–15).

Airport-level emissions

The 20 highest-emitting airports generated 280 million tonnes of CO₂, representing 27.3% of all airport emissions (p.15). Just 100 airports account for approximately two-thirds of total emissions. Dubai, London Heathrow and Los Angeles are the three highest-emitting airports overall (p.16–17).

Flight types and emissions patterns

Passenger flights account for 90% of flights and 87% of climate impact. Long-haul flights, at just 7% of all flights, contributed 40% of total CO₂ emissions (p.19).

Local air pollution from airports

The 1,300 airports produced more than 800,000 tonnes of local air pollutants in 2023, including 430,402 tonnes of NOₓ and 2,099 tonnes of PM₂.₅ (p.17). Dubai, London Heathrow and Istanbul ranked among the top NOₓ-emitting airports (p.17–18).

Conclusion

The Airport Tracker positions airports as critical leverage points for change, with data supporting advocacy across climate, health, finance and energy security. Regulators are urged to recognise that managing airport capacity is one of the few strategic levers capable of ensuring aviation contributes meaningfully to a net-zero society (p.22).