New Partnership Between Aalborg Airport and Egholm Park on Flight Safety and Climate Compensation
In relation to Aalborg Airport’s work with the green transition, being a CO2-neutral airport is a major milestone that is now becoming a reality. This is done through the purchase of climate compensation right next to the airport – namely on the island of Egholm. Under the name Egholm Park, more than half of the fields are now being converted to sustainable nature areas, which will especially strengthen the biodiversity and nature experiences on the island.
Sustainable grass and nature areas on Egholm will compensate for the CO2 emissions that Aalborg Airport cannot currently reduce itself. At the same time, the airport ensures the appropriate management of the area, taking into account the airport’s current obligations and legal requirements regarding flight safety.
– In more recent years, a vast effort has been made to reduce Aalborg Airport’s CO2 footprint. We have come a long way with, among other things, switching to LED lighting and to electric vehicles, but to become CO2-neutral, climate compensation is a necessity. And now the right solution has been presented, where we both ensure sufficient compensation and at the same time contribute to our immediate area. Equally important is that we can to an even greater extent secure our legal obligations for aviation safety, in relation to, among other things, the type of birds in the area. Specifically, perennial grasslands will limit the number of larger migratory birds in the airport’s airspace, says CEO Niels Hemmingsen.
Egholm has the Optimal Conditions
Based on hundreds of samples, the soil for Egholm Park has been analyzed to investigate the potential for carbon buildup and CO2 uptake. The expectation is of at least 27,000 tonnes of CO2 uptake over a 10-year period. This presupposes, among other things, that the dikes up to the fjord are preserved and that the grass areas are grazed regularly. The carbon build-up is continuously monitored during the period.
– The collaboration with Aalborg Airport aims to combine the company’s need for climate compensation and aviation safety with a completely new way of running agriculture. In practice, we stop our current operations and lay the soil out in perennial grass, which provides a significant climate effect and plenty of space for biodiversity to develop. This is only the first big step in our vision of securing Egholm for posterity as a green island for the benefit of nature, the people of Aalborg and visiting guests, says the initiator behind Egholm Park, Jens Thomsen.
Green Transition with Roots in the Immediate Area
The 27,000 tonnes of CO2 uptake over 10 years exceeds the airport’s current compensation needs, which are also expected to change in line with the airport’s work on the green transition. The part that is beyond the airport’s own needs therefore provides opportunities for other stakeholders in the industry.
– Aalborg Airport connects North Jutland with the rest of the world, where direct flight connections and the development of the airport benefit the entire region – including the business community, says chairman of Aalborg Airport’s board, Thomas Kastrup-Larsen and continues – It is gratifying that we are now on the way to getting a CO2- neutral airport, where investments are made in local climate compensation, which in addition strengthens the North Jutland nature. It benefits Aalborg Airport, and it benefits the whole of North Jutland, where an example has now been created of how companies in North Jutland and private actors can work together on climate improvement.