LowEmissionAsphalt-136pg-WhitePaper-May2023

P a g e | 53 Airports Aviation is responsible for approximately 2.8% of global GHG emissions. 108 In the U.S., its roughly the same ~3% of total climate-related emissions and more than 12% of transportation industry emissions. 109 Airports often contribute up to one-third of large city NOx. For the foreseeable future, the contribution of aviation will increase relative to the rest of the transportation sector because alternative modes of transportation, for example automobiles and buses etcetera, are able to shift faster to alterative fuels. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are making developmental progress, but the process is slow. Who is responsible? The airlines or the airport operators? The answer is both. To incentivize airport owners, the Congress passed the Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program (VALE) 110 way back in 2004 and is similar to the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program that’s been a part of the Fast Act (now IIJA) 111 for some time. Similar to the FHWAs Climate Challenge, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched its Aviation Climate Action Plan in late 2021. 112 The Action Plan covers all aspects of airport as well as flight operations on the ground and in the air. Figure 28 – Airport Emissions (CO 2 e) by Source Source: Heathrow Airport 108 UN IPCC Report on Climate Change, May 2022. 109 UN IPCC Report on Climate Change, May 2022; IEA. 110 Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program (VALE) | Federal Aviation Administration (faa.gov) . 111 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program Fact Sheet | Federal Highway Administration (dot.gov) . 112 Aviation Climate Action Plan | Federal Aviation Administration (faa.gov) . 28% 46% 17% 9% Aircraft Taxi, Takeoff Aircraft on Ground Airport Traffic Terminals