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1.0

Climate Action

Climate action is about lowering, and eventually reaching net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, while also building resilience to climate change impacts (such as increased heat, wildfires, changes in seasonal temperatures and precipitation, lightning advisories and other extreme weather events).

Although there are many synergies between GHG emission reduction and climate resilience, for the purpose of tracking our actions, we have created two Action Goals. The GHG emission reduction goal has an associated corporate KPI.

Applicable United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Icon of climate action with icon of the globe with icon of an eye
• Icon of affordable and clean energy with icon of sun with a power button inside

  • By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2)

  • By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (7.3)

  • Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries (13.1)

  • Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning (13.3)

1.1

Reduce GHG, Air Quality Emissions & Energy Use

YYC has set the ambitious goal of reaching net-zero emissions for our Scope 1 & 2 Emissions by 2050. This is in-line with The City of Calgary, the Airports Council International, ICAO and IATA, and the Government of Canada, along with numerous air service and other corporate partners. We have set the following emission reduction goals:

2050 Goal 2026 Goal
Achieve net-zero scope 1 & 2 emissions Reduce GHG emissions to 65,393 tCO2e or lower by 2026 (30% reduction over 2018)

Scope 1 emissions are those associated with the production of emissions on-site, whereas scope 2 emissions are associated with electricity consumed on-site from the Alberta electrical grid. Scope 3 emissions are those derived through the entire value chain of the organization. For a more specific breakdown of airport emissions and their accounting, please see the Airport Carbon Accreditation program website.

While our KPI currently focuses on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, we recognize the importance of Scope 3 emissions in our sector and have therefore committed to several important actions that will enable emissions reduction in our value chain.

Our Emissions

On average from 2018 through 2021, approximately 81% of overall Scope 1 and 2 emissions were from electricity use. The next largest source of GHG emissions at YYC is a 17% contribution from natural gas used for thermal applications. The remaining emissions are attributed to Calgary Airport Authority vehicles and diesel generators. The dashboard below provides a breakdown of our emissions since 2018. These numbers have been validated through the Airport Carbon Accreditation program.

Currently, the airport is powered electrically through connections to the Alberta electrical grid. 1.5 megawatts combined heat-power co-generation units are also available in the ITB, however since being installed there has not been sufficient heating demand to require their use. Like the rest of the facility, these units are fueled by natural gas. Throughout the terminal, there are 19 diesel-powered backup generators used to provide emergency power supply when required.

The Domestic Terminal Building (DTB) was built in 1977 and is responsible for 44% of the airports’ emissions.

The flow diagram below shows how energy is generated and used at YYC. Heating in the building is provided through natural gas boilers located in a central plant building. Cooling in the DTB is provided through a combination of auxiliary chillers and a domestic cold-water loop. A geothermal system provides heating and cooling to the International Terminal Building (ITB). However, it is augmented with chillers to remove excess heat during summer months. Within both the ITB and DTB several smaller-scale appliances also produce thermal energy for localized heating and cooking. The dashboard below provides an overview of our overall scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Image of energy flows at YYC

Energy and Emisssions Data

Below details the actions we have undertaken to date to support emissions reduction, in addition to the important partnerships we’ve established.

Scope 1 & 2 Emissions

Achieved Airport Carbon Accreditation Level I

Geothermal heating / cooling in the ITB

LED lighting retrofit

BMS Optimization

Baggage system replacement with high-efficiency motors

Feasibility assessment for solar farms

Scope 3 Emissions

Concrete carbon sequestration for all pavement projects (CarbonCure)

EV charging stations for ground support equipment and passengers

Air navigation and ground movement procedures designed to reduce emissions (RNP, Jet-Turn trial)

Climate Action Partners

Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels

Chair of Calgary Climate Panel

Partner on Calgary Region Hydrogen Hub

Canadian Airports Council

NAV Canada

Tactics

Going forward, our emissions reduction plan will be rooted in our current High Level Net-Zero Emissions Roadmap that is summarised in the diagram below.

Icon of a linear progress line of verbiage “not started” in red text, “in progress” in yellow text and “complete” in blue text

  • YYC continues to improve the quality, monitoring and automation of data from all emissions sources and will continue to work with partners to improve technology and reporting. YYC reports and validates all Scope 1 and 2 emissions through the Airport Carbon Accreditation program and has recently begun reporting of Scope 3 emissions

  • Currently in Alberta, roughly 63% of electricity is generated from fossil-fuel sources (6% from coal and 57% from natural gas). Although the electricity grid is projected to gradually de-carbonize over the next 10 years, YYC needs to consider renewable sources of electricity to significantly reduce scope 2 emissions. Fortunately, Calgary is one of Canada sunniest city’s (with over 300 days of sunshine per year) and the airport has plenty of otherwise undevelopable land to spare. A key tactic over the next five years is to develop a specific plan for constructing microgrids at our airports to enable onsite use of solar and geothermal electricity sources

  • To reach net-zero carbon emissions, the airport must first reduce the demand on the energy systems as much as possible. There are several low-cost, high return demand management actions that will reduce YYC’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by up to 20%. This includes LED lighting upgrades and building management system (BMS) optimization

  • As airport vehicles reach the end of their life cycle, YYC will be replacing them with low-carbon vehicles. YYC is also considering fuel alternatives, such as electric and hydrogen vehicles as well as biofuels and blend options

  • This tactic is focused on assessing an designing zero-carbon solutions for major heating, cooling and ventilation systems primarily for the Air Terminal Building.

  • Given that generally at least 92% of all airport-related emissions are from scope 3 sources17, it is critical that the Airport Authority also focuses on collaborations to support these emission reductions. Scope 3 emissions aren’t directly controllable by airports (i.e., plane fuel and ground operations fuels), but the airport and its infrastructure play an influential role in the generation of these emissions.

    This stream is geared toward supporting the decarbonisation of airport partners and our value chain. While we currently do not have a quantitative inventory of our scope 3 emissions, three key areas of focus have been identified. While quantifying our scope 3 emissions is scheduled to occur by the end of 2024, the following strategies will be adopted based on the currently known major areas of impact:

    • Supporting the infrastructure and facilitate building supply chain for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).

    • Create programs, infrastructure and partnerships for tenants, ground transportation and ground operations (airside) to decarbonise.

    • Require airport vendors, construction projects to commit to net-zero emissions and minimize the carbon intensity of products and services.

1.2

Build Resilience to Climate Change Impacts

In 2021, YYC conducted a large-scale climate change risk assessment of our assets and operations. This was the starting point to take deliberate steps to ensure our assets and operations remain flexible and adaptive in the face of shifting climate conditions and greater climate uncertainty.

Our Climate Risk

The Calgary Airport Authority’s climate change risk profile was established by determining the incremental risk climate change adds to existing atmospheric hazards. The objective of this risk assessment was to identify the operational and infrastructure impacts to which both YYC and YBW are vulnerable under the current trajectory of climate change, as defined by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario.

Tactics

YYC’s approach to climate resiliency is to make sure it is embedded into key decisions and projects across the organization. To build resilience to climate change impacts, we will take an adaptive management approach. This will enable us to be flexible and responsive to changing conditions and emerging risks. Key elements of our risk management plan to build our climate resilience are:

Icon of a linear progress line of verbiage “not started” in red text, “in progress” in yellow text and “complete” in blue text

  • Incorporate future climate projections and uncertainty into the design of new infrastructure and ensure existing assets are resilient. Additionally, YYC will develop climate resilience standards for our campuses.

  • YYC will work with airport partners, government and other groups to understand the cascading and interdependent nature of risks and manage them accordingly

Focus Areas