India aims to make 121 airports carbon neutral by 2025: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Twenty-five airports in the country are using 100 per cent green energy, while another 121 airports will be made carbon neutral by 2025, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Thursday.

Scindia made the comments in his virtual address at the two-day EU-India aviation summit. He could not attend the event in person after testing Covid positive.

"The emission contribution of the aviation industry has been under immense scrutiny. We have taken several measures to minimise the carbon footprint and mitigate emissions from the aviation industry," said Scindia asserting that India and the European Union have a common goal of tackling climate change.

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"We are encouraging our airports to use green energy by 2024 and achieve net zero by 2030. Twenty-five of our airports are already using 100 per cent green energy. Our target is to make another 121 airports carbon neutral by 2025," he added.

The summit, which began on Thursday, will focus on EU-India air transport relations and the mutually shared challenges and opportunities of the two regions, such as the post-Covid recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety and the development of unmanned aircraft systems.

The summit will bring together top-level policy makers, industry executives and stakeholders from both the EU and India.

The Aviation Minister noted that India has reformed the regulatory mechanism to promote aircraft manufacturing in the country.

"We have reformed the regulatory environment to make it as conducive as possible. I urge industry players from the European Union to tap into these opportunities and become part of the fastest growing aviation industry in the world," he said.