World Economic Forum has published a November 2023 white paper entitled ‘Financing the airports of tomorrow: a green transition toolkit’, intended to help airports by supporting their sustainable transition.
The ‘Airports of Tomorrow’ initiative, co-lead by the World Economic Forum and Airports Council Initiative (ACI) and supported by industry analysts Oliver Wyman, has convened executives from across the aviation ecosystem to collaborate on four key pillars: infrastructure, sustainable aviation fuel, financing and innovation.
A World Economic Forum spokesperson explained that the toolkit is ‘intended to help airports chart a path to net zero through decarbonisation-related projects and provides insight into the various financing mechanisms to fund such investments’, including information to help mitigate emissions and guidance for strategic financial planning.
The toolkit estimates that at least $150 billion in funding for airport infrastructure projects will be needed between 2023 and 2027 in the US alone, yet warns that without demonstrating progress towards decarbonisation, airports will ‘likely experience restrictions on access to conventional finance’. Potential financing mechanisms include commercial loans, development bank loans and grants, and sustainability-linked finance based on airport size and regional governing policy.