PPL and IOŚ are to cooperate to reduce the negative impact of air transport on the environment

Polish Airports and the Institute of Environmental Protection signed a letter of intent on Thursday regarding cooperation in environmental research and development activities. This includes conducting research on the impact of air transport and reducing its negative impact on the environment.

The letter was signed by Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Maciej Lasek, Deputy Minister of Climate Krzysztof Bolesta, Member of the Management Board of PPL for Strategy and Marketing Adam Sanocki and Director of the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute Marcin Stoczkiewicz.

As explained during Thursday's press conference, PPL and the Institute of Environmental Protection (IOŚ) are to undertake research and development activities aimed at reducing the negative impact of air transport on the environment, air quality, and CO2 and noise emissions. The agreement also aims to support and promote ESG initiatives in the aviation industry, as well as the development of sustainable technological solutions.

"I'm very pleased that this letter was written. We are now leaders in all the industries developing in Europe, leaders in achieving zero aviation emissions by 2050," Maciej Lasek said on Thursday.

Krzysztof Bolesta pointed out that the issue of climate and environmental protection also affects the competitiveness of the aviation industry.

"It's about attracting passengers with ecological, environmentally friendly solutions. We must be the leader of change, the leader in climate and environmental innovation, to make travel easier and more enjoyable for passengers, but also to make travel more economical, because fewer emissions also mean less fuel and, therefore, lower travel costs," Bolesta pointed out.

Marcin Stoczkiewicz explained that as part of the collaboration, a working group will be established to determine the impact of climate change on the aviation industry. "These extreme weather events are already inflicting very significant losses on the aviation industry," he noted. He added that the group will also work on the impact of regulatory risks on the aviation industry. It will also strive to predict and present to PPL how the industry can adapt to, for example, EU environmental regulations. "We will work within these working groups on the implementation of the directive, the new air quality directive, in Poland. This directive also places significant requirements on airports," he added.

Stoczkiewicz noted that the aviation industry is difficult to decarbonize, making achieving climate neutrality a "huge challenge." He added that another problem is the industry's significant noise emissions.

In an interview with PAP, the IOŚ director clarified that the working group will begin its work after the summer break, around mid-August. He added that it will be a single working group with subgroups.

When asked by PAP when the first results of the working group's activities could be expected, Deputy Minister Bolesta estimated that they would be visible "within a year." "The Institute of Environmental Protection (...) is the best institution with the best people to help companies adapt to climate change, how to monitor the impact of their operations on climate change, and how best to counteract it," Bolesta said.

During the conference, Adam Sanocki emphasized that the aviation industry has a huge impact on Poland's economic development. He added that it is "extremely important" for PPL that aviation's impact on economic development be sustainable.

"It's not only over 500,000 jobs, but also – as ACI Europe experts have calculated – a 10% increase in air connections affects GDP per capita by approximately 0.5%. (...) From the very beginning, we have been trying to ensure that the enormous revenues we generate are in harmony not only with the local community, but also with the environment, and to minimize this impact on the environment," he noted.

As PPL explained, the cooperation will also focus on implementing solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noise around airports, collaborating on the development of hydrogen technologies, developing and using sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), optimizing airport energy efficiency (increasing energy efficiency and utilizing renewable energy sources), and implementing educational initiatives promoting environmental protection in air transport. (PAP)

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