Evaluating The Environmental Footprint Of India’s Aviation Sector And Emerging Green Airport Designs In Indian Cities
Author: LawSphereX
Category: Environmental Law
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EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF
INDIA’S AVIATION SECTOR AND EMERGING GREEN AIRPORT DESIGNS IN INDIAN CITIES Anshika Bhandari, School of Law – Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai Dr. Arun D Raj, Assistant Professor, School of Law – Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai
ABSTRACT
The aviation sector, despite being a significant contributor to carbon emissions and ecological disruption, remains under-addressed within the ambit of Indian environmental law. This paper critically explores the overlooked environmental implications of aviation, including air quality degradation, carbon footprints, and biodiversity disruptions—particularly around airport ecosystems. The study begins with the enabling gaps in legislation and analyzes how India is attempting to overcome these gaps through fuel efficient eco-friendly air route creation, eco-efficient flight path modifications, and changes in air traffic management. The paper also analyses the proactive measures taken by India towards the construction of greener airports by examining the consonance of GRIHA and LEED sustainability norms and carbon neutrality commitments.
It looks into the contribution of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), biofuels, and publicprivate partnerships in promoting the energy transition for cleaner fuels. It combines a legal analysis of the commitments from national entities such as MoEFCC and the DGCA against the backdrop of CORSIA's key reductions in emissions for international aviation by ICAO targets. This paper accompanies India’s analysis with comparative studies from case Norway, Singapore, and the EU on the zero-emission aircraft and international fuels funds such as UK’s Advanced Fuels Fund, EBRD- KazMunayGas-Air Astana. With renewable energy investments and fuelswitching KazMunayGas-Air Astana and others are provided for the position on EU funds. It focuses on the legislating aspects on the reasoned petition Hanuman Laxman Aroskar v.
Union of India (2020) where the supposed functional approach to the Mopa airport project is situated in the positive and negative aspects of the environment. The paper also seeks to advance policy SAF Certificates under Sustainable Aviation Fuel Buyer.
INTRODUCTION
India is experiencing accelerated growth of its aviation sector. This is opening up new regions and propelling the economy forward. This growth, however, incurs heavy costs to the environment, including increased carbon emissions and air quality deterioration as well as biodiversity loss surrounding airport zones. In India, the ecological consequences of aviation have not been integrated into the law, environmental governance is focused issues related aviation infrastructure. Despite the existence of some overreaching laws such as the Environment Protection Act of 19861 and The Air Prevention and Control of Pollution Act of 19812, there is no substantive engagement with the problem of aviation infrastructure development. In the Indian context, the environmental impact of airport design was shed light on in Hanuman Laxman Aroskar v.
Union of India (2020)3, when the Supreme Court intervened to stop the Mopa airport project, citing lack of an appropriate Environment Impact Assessment. The court also reaffirmed the requirement that the ecological sensitivity of the region must be factored into the environmental clearance exercise, reiterating that such protections derive from the constitutional right to life under article 21. 4 India has also underwritten commitments such as The Paris Agreement and ICAO CORSIA but remains inconsistent on how these obligations are adopted into domestic policy. This paper aims to tackle why the ecological consequences of aviation remain unattended to, how such ecological consequences materialize in the vicinity of airports, and recent initiatives aimed at sustainable airport design.
HIDDEN ECOLOGICAL COSTS OF AVIATON IN INDIA Disregarding the socio-legal highlights of India’s aviation growth, its impact on the environment has been largely ignored. Emissions for the aviation sector have burned jet A-1 fuel at approximately 40% between 2005-2010. This booster period is followed by an sharp increase in carbon dioxide emission (CO2) alongside turbine jet fuel consumption and
1 THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION) ACT, 1986
2 Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
3 [2019] 5 S.C.R. 916
4 Aligbe, Margaret & Prasad, Rakesh. (2020). The Environmental Assessment Basis of the Decision to Build a New Airport at Mopa in Goa, India. 10. 13140/RG. 2. 2. 31591. 06560. emissions. International aviation travel conducted in India alone contributed around 14. 34M metric tonnes of CO2 which has immensely increased by 165. 7% since 1990 and vastly superseding the global average of 76. 1% during the same time period. 5 Expansion in infrastructure causing an increasing amount of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK SATD) is causing for emission levels to be increased at an alarming rate. The study shows that the RPK correlates with an increase in CO2 emissions by about 0. 4% per increment of RPK. With the notable demand of the relocating middle class, per capita income growth has been capable of exceeding the previously set limits.
The exposed driving forces behind such vast aviation pollution are emissions alongside violent socio-economic fuels driving this activity. The discourse surrounding airports is usually focused on carbon emissions, but these places are also sources of immense environmental strain. There is a marked drop in air quality in the vicinity of airports as a result of the intense fuel burning during take-offs and landings. While not particularly focused on biodiversity loss, it is clear that the other ceaselessly growing phenomenon of airport infrastructure development is very detrimental to the ever crippling airport ecosystems as it shred regions into pieces and disrupts ecosystems, displaces flora and fauna, and fragments habitats such blanked out factors without any consideration in construction planning.
There have been improvements in the emissions and fuel efficiency has a negative correlation to that (for every 1% improvement in fuel efficiency, emissions drop 0. 10%) but this alone does not sufficiently subsidize bolstered environmental impacts offset sustainability concerns. Air Vistara, which has since merged with Air India, took the lead in India by being among the the rest to implement Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) so at least it set some precedence6. Not many other airlines have adopted this unfortunately. The whole industry continues to depend on using conventional ATF, which means that the carbon footprint remains consistently high despite advancements in technologies. 5 Priyanka Saharia & Krishna Raj, The Impact of Civil Aviation Growth on CO2 Emissions in India: Evidence from a Time Series Analysis, Working Paper No. 498, Inst. for Soc. & Econ. Change (Oct.
2020) 6 Vistara Becomes the First Indian Airline to Operate a Commercial, Wide-Body Aircraft Flight Using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders (May 4, 2023) There’s an urgent need for change in the policies and movement within India’s aviation schematics, aimed a addressing these gaps and impacts in unison. There's a clear need for structural implementation of accountability on airline companies beyond just the airlines being responsible for fuel use- inviting oversight on their ecological actions in proximity to airport regions. More carriers must follow Vistara’s lead, not only to meet emission targets but to shift the culture of aviation from expansion-focused to sustainability-conscious.
ECO EFFICIENCY STRATEGIES AND FUEL MANAGEMENT FROM ENVIRONMENTAL STANDPOINT As per the research of Airbus (2003) and the data of the paper7, fuel costs take 45% of all airlines' operating costs that's why fuel optimization is one of the key questions for airways in the current situation. The growth of the Indian air industry and the negative impact of environmental factors and economic problems together have made the introduction of ecoefficient air routes and flight optimization strategies essential. Thus, these were inevitable steps, not an optional one. It is a well-known fact that Indian airlines have always been in trouble while trying to meet economic and environmental standards.
The necessary changes that aircraft fuel consumption has in order to become more environmentally friendly have been identified by the fuel optimization research, where over 98 variables have been examined, and improvements across operations, infrastructure, and air traffic management (ATM) can lead to decreases in fuel use. These include among others the reduction of taxiing time, flight paths that are optimized based on wind patterns and cruise altitudes, and the way how the terminal area is designed. In terms of operation, IndiGo and Vistara take the lead in implementing fuel-efficient aircraft like the A320neo and Boeing 737-800. These aircraft not only cut the fuel consumption but also work well with more efficient flight planning systems. This new type of aircraft helps save a large amount of fuel while at the same time being better connected to optimized flight planning systems.
Vistara was the main subject in the news because it was the first Indian airline which conducted a wide-body commercial flight using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) showing the energy revolution in the whole world and serving 7 Singh, V. , Sharma, S. K. Fuel consumption optimization in air transport: a review, classification, critique, simple meta-analysis, and future research implications. Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. 7, 12 (2015) as great morale for the rest of the aviation companies. According to the FCO (Fuel Consumption Optimization) models found in the international literature, the most effective measures for reducing emissions include the reorganization of airspace, flight path redesign, and dynamic trajectory adjustments.
Nonetheless, Indian air traffic controllers predominantly adhere to safety and congestion management procedures, which leads to a partial loss in the potential application of energy-efficient flight profiles. The country, however, is progressively adopting a more flexible use of airspace with the GAGAN project (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) and thus presents prospects for better routing in the near future. First and foremost, the Indian sector can learn from the example of other countries if it wants to achieve environmentally friendly aviation. For example, Europe’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) scheme 8and the U. S. NextGen program 9are two such models that have been reported to achieve a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to the optimized airspace and traffic coordination.
However, at the end of the day, along with technological inventions, fuel-efficient routing and SAF adoption at the aviation route level, the right infrastructure, and the green kinds of airline policies can be the major push towards greener aviation in India. The efforts of the whole sector, especially of the private airlines, need to match that of Vistara’s, to ensure that fuelefficient routing and SAF adoption become the common practices in the whole country in the near future. The data from Indian carriers clearly indicates a move towards a few types of aircraft which are fuel-efficient and mainly from Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families.
As the study shows, the Boeing 737-800 model, which Air India Express as well as Jet Airways bought, surfaced as the most optimum revenue-generating and cost-efficient plane, which was able to operate both short and long distances (Bansod & Gaikwad, 2020). 10The authors have amplified the key points and mentioned that airlines have to concentrate on new planes that have the capability to accommodate more people and increased engine variants that will benefit both the
8 SESAR Joint Undertaking, What is SESAR?, SESAR JU, https://www.sesarju.eu/discover-sesar
9 Fed. Aviation Admin., NextGen – The Future of Flying, https://www.faa.gov/nextgen
10 Pradnya B. Bansod & Sanjaykumar Gaikwad, Fuel Efficiency in Aircraft and Its Financial Performance with Reference to Indian Airline Companies, 9 Int’l J. Innovative Tech. & Exploring Eng’g (IJITEE) (Special Issue)
128 (Mar. 2020)
aircraft's fuel efficiency and the airlines' financial performance. It is worth mentioning that the A320neo aircraft family not only reduces fuel consumption by up to 25–35%, but also represents an additional step in the direction of carbon emissions reduction that, in turn, supports the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, hence these new airplanes are the right choice for both the environment and the economy. The article is indirectly in favor of fleet modernization, as one of the strategies to cut costs and emissions—a move that can be well supported through regulatory incentives or mandatory fuel-efficiency benchmarks under Indian environmental law. As the aviation industry develops, reconciling these kinds of aircraft decisions with environmental conformity might become a very important initial stage.
GREENING INDIA’S AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE Considering the state of such a heavily populated country, it is inevitable to receive unprecedented air and travel traffic as well. With this rising number, it has only become more and more detrimental for Indian airports to follow carbon ratings and be equipped with carbon accredited facilities for their carbon reduction efforts. Taking inspiration and keeping global airports like Changi International Airport in Singapore, in the last two to three years airports in India have also been keeping up with the trends. In India, offlate two airports have been very targeted into shifting their ecological impact towards the same cause.
Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi have both been trying to follow foreign certifications such as the PEER (Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal Platinum) Certification 11and LEED (Lesser Environmental Damage). Subsequently, multiple other airports in India have also followed the footsteps of the former airports. Eighty Indian Airports are trying to switch to 100% green energy trying to achieve Level 4+ Airport Council Accreditation and trying to turn carbon neutral. India’s journey towards establishing sustainable aviation infrastructure is best depicted in the solarisation of Cochin International Airport (CIAL)12.
When hit by a whopping 75% increase in electricity tariffs from ₹4 to ₹7 per unit, which would raise the annual energy costs from ₹7 crore to ₹12 crore, CIAL did not resort to cost-cutting measures but chose renewable energy as a self-sustaining solution. Cochin Airport, using the abundant solar energy in Kerala, not 11 U. S. Green Building Council, PEER-Certified Airports in India Take Flight with Power Resilience, USGBC, https://www. usgbc. org/articles/peer-certified-airports-india-take-flight-power-resilience
12 Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Solarisation of Cochin
International Airport, Public-Private Partnerships in India, https://www.pppinindia.gov.in/bestpractices/bestpractice-detail/solarisation-of-cochin-international-airport only made vacant land but also the airport roof become a huge solar power generation area. Following its successful trial of an efficient solar panel of 100 kWp, CIAL has, by 2020, entirely switched to solar. At present, it still stands as the only airport in the entire world that uses 100% solar power as it has not only generated 250 million units of solar power but also reduced over 160,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions that is equivalent to the action of planting
2.5 million trees in a decade.
The way it worked, profited the environment, not only giving the example of renewable energy but also being a roadmap for other Indian airports, especially given that India aims at having 50% of its energy from zero-carbon sources by 2030. The project was recognized to be successful as a result of the measures taken by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission who implemented new policies that solved aspects related to the grid that would further change and attracted solar producers by giving them the incentive to provide solar. It is a sector where the carbon intensity is very high, so the initiative of CIAL shows that sustainable environmental action from an infrastructure perspective can succeed not only in a small way but also in a large way and still be profitable that it can be implemented by the majority of the airports an example other airports must now urgently follow.
India's aviation sector is now trying to achieve a balance between its remarkable growth and environmental responsibility. While most of the dialogue about sustainability centers on inflight combustion emissions, a considerable share of the ecological footprint comes from airports—especially in relation to waste production13, water, and energy inefficiency. Fortunately, several Indian airlines and airports have started adopting sustainability practices that more directly address these issues. According to research, airlines are now implementing water recycling systems which could be used for landscaping and maintenance of the airport and its surroundings. These systems promote the responsible use of freshwater, which is a crucial but overexploited resource.
At the same time, several airports began the use of constructing new buildings with renewable energy and energy-saving features for the purpose of not only reducing cost, but also moving towards carbon neutrality. 13 Vasavada Thummala & Rahul B. Hiremath, Green Aviation in India: Airline's Implementation for Achieving Sustainability, 7 Cleaner & Resp. Consumption 100082 (2022) There have been significant developments in the waste management, particularly in managing in-flight cabin waste. AirAsia India, for example, is implementing an onboard recycling program and educating passengers about segregating and collecting recyclables such as plastic bottles, newspapers, and food packaging. This initiative, which is part of the company’s sustainability vision, has helped reduce environmental forgone value.
Renaissance of Environment and Carbon-Conscious Reforms are cognates of policies supported by several initiatives such as the incorporation of worh saving technologies on terminals as well as earth friendly ground vehicles and hoses for automatized baggage handling. It is specified in the report that the aforementioned policies become part of a larger strategy for carbon neutral measures. These measures are further strengthened by policy commitments like India’s Accession to CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) which predefines emission limits reduction targets until 2050. However, one change which cuts across all efforts is adopting a new way of thinking, marking a mentality shift. In these forms it is entered personal domain as once regarded as a an indulgence, which came together as a fusion of saving and legislative obligation.
Bottomline, additional harvesting water systems with advanced waste separation and segregation systems are required. REIMAGINING SUSTAINABLE AND BIOJET FUELS IN INDIAN AVIATION Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) biofuels are rapidly emerging as one of the effective solutions for decarbonizing aviation. These types of fuel are produced through renewable biological materials such as used cooking oil, agricultural leftovers, or even man-made waste. SAFs, which are usually processed through HEFA (Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids) technology, are termed as “drop-in” compatible fuels because they can easily be used with current aircraft and fuel infrastructure without requiring any changes. These fuels also reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by 80% in comparison to fossil jet fuels.
14 The SpiceJet Biojet Powered Flight marked India’s initial strides towards SAFs in 2018, when they performed a test run of the Bombardier Q400 turboprop bio jet flight powered by a 25% 14 IEA Bioenergy Task 39, Progress in the Commercialisation of Biojet/Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF): Technologies, Potential and Challenges (May 2021), https://www. ieabioenergy. com/wpcontent/uploads/2021/05/Progress-in-the-commercialisation-of-biojet-fuels-May-2021-1. pdf. biofuel blend. 15This placed India into the early mover category with a handful of countries globally. However, there seems to be no other filling the gap post this step to enable the spiraling demand to be met.
The initiative which is praised as a remarkable development in infrastructure of India would be expected to allow other commercial airlines in the country to adopt SASs and fuel with numerically higher blends of SAF but the anticipation has died out. The reasons are myriad. First, the economics do not add up. SAFs, especially those produced via HEFA, are currently three to six times expensive than conventional jet fuel. Why would an airline operate in a price-sensitive market like India, if there are no clear financial incentives? Selling green fuel is too costly and airlines have little incentive in adopting greener fuels—particularly when operating within India’s sensitive market. Second, there are various constraints throughout the supply chain, especially the limited availability of qualifying sustainably sourced feedstocks and mature refining infrastructure.
While India is believed to possess a high theoretical feedstock potential, especially in agricultural residues and urban wastes, the impending-advanced biofuel technologies commercializtion is too slow to meet aviation-scale demand before the aspirational 2030 mark. 16 When it comes to India’s National Policy on Biofuels (2018), naturally there is mention regarding unsustainably sourced non-food feedstocks alongside second-generation biofuel ambitions. However, the bulk of that attention goes toward non-aviation transport fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and road transport fuels. There’s no biojet specific SAF incentive or mandate, and it’s incredibly sector-specific. Unlike the rest of the region, the US and EU have prioritized SAF over renewable diesel, and focus on offsetting the cost with multipliers or credits in the carbon markets.
In a funny twist, multiple countries have followed suit thanks to India’s pioneering attempt. Countries like Brazil, The Netherlands, and even some Gulf Oil States have put active efforts toward SAF development since 2018, often funded through public-private research consortiums and grants. Compared to other countries, India’s public-private efforts are unfocused, under funded, and lack a comprehensive strategy for monetization. 15 Nikita Pavlenko & Stephanie Searle, The Potential for Advanced Biofuels in India: Assessing the Availability of Feedstocks and Deployable Technologies, Int’l Council on Clean Transp. (Dec. 2019) Int’l Renewable Energy Agency, Reaching Zero with Renewables: Biojet Fuels (2021), https://www. irena.
org/publications/2021/Mar/Reaching-Zero-with-Renewables-Biojet-Fuels Overall, the argument for SAFs from an environmentalist’s perspective is robust, but remains grounded in reality when it comes to implementation in the Indian aviation industry. So far, the aviation sector in India has failed to optimally utilize the available green fuels. Without strong policy frameworks, appropriate investment, and cohesive supply chain partnerships, the opportunity to drastically reduce emissions through biofuel will likely slip through India’s fingers. 17 LEGAL AND INFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO GREEN AVIATION From an environmental perspective, green aviation is characterized by inherent weaknesses related to scale, infrastructure, and policy stagnation in India.
The country’s CO2 emissions from aviation is significantly lower than 2% at present due to overall economic activity but is fast rising with increasing air traffic and with it the environmental footprint. However, green aviation is not easy to decarbonize. Another barrier to overcome is the lack of domestic SAF production at a climate relevant scale. 18 Although India has biomass and waste feedstocks, the processing capacity and fragmented logistics systems result in ongoing dependence on fossil jet fuel. This jet fuel is by no means a low emissions alternative as it releases massive quantities of CO2 along with significant nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, contributing to the decline in urban air quality.
The implementation of CORSIA, although meant to manage and cap emissions from international flights, does nothing for India’s domestic aviation pollution which is accelerating sharply. 19There is no domestic air space emissions trading or monitoring system in place, leading to rampant unchecked environmental damage. One more problem is the insufficient concern around lifecycle emissions. Some sources SAF isn’t inherently “green”—its sustainability is contingent on the feedstock, land use, and emissions of the production. India has no robust certification systems currently to ensure SAF 17 Meghan Lim, M. K. Luckert & Feng Qiu, Economic Opportunities and Challenges in Biojet Production: A Literature Review and Analysis, Biomass & Bioenergy (2023), https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. biombioe. 2023. 106727.
18 KS Legal & Associates, CORSIA’s Impact on India’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels, KS & K Law (Sept. 21, 2023), https://ksandk. com/energy/corsia-indias-aviation-industry-aviation-fuels/ 19 Vurdhaan, India Gears Up for Green Aviation: Preparing for CORSIA and SAF Market, Vurdhaan (Nov. 3, 2023), https://vurdhaan. com/india-gears-up-for-green-aviation-preparing-for-corsia-and-saf-market/ development will not lead to deforestation or water stress, amongst many other problems troubling Indian ecosystems. 20 Airports also contribute to the gap. Most use significant amounts of fossil-based power and have very little infrastructure that facilitates green energy integration, whether for operations or SAF storage and blending.
Filling these environmental gaps will require India to have a science-backed, climate-specific SAF policy with set carbon intensity limits and land use mandates, as well as non optional reporting. Renewable energy and circular waste system adoption should be compulsory for airports. Building a truly sustainable aviation ecosystem will also require multidisciplinary cooperation, including agriculture, energy, and urban planning.
CONCLUSION
Today, India’s aviation industry sits precariously on the fence. Its positioning as one of the fastest-growing industries globally is commendable, but the lack of infrastructure to address mounting environmental concerns is equally alarming. While the sector is expanding at an impressive rate, from the revenue passenger kilometers to sustainable aviation fuel adoption, the sector's overarching emissions goal remains merely a lofty goal. The environmental balance still tilts heavily in favor of capitalism. While international Cochin airports offer services and Vistara and AirAsia India face some exemplary branding efforts towards aviation, sustainable nationwide legislations are nowhere to be found. Although 80+ airports have publicly committed towards achieving Level 4+ carbon neutrality, the majority do so without supervision under voluntary frameworks.
India is lacking an overarching and cohesive industry mandate. These laws either lack designated enforcement or guidance as to what constitutes ‘green transformation,’ transforming airport construction into performative tasks rather than efficient systems. The 1986 Act lacks defined, targeted emissions limits alongside reporting requirements for aviation overalls and operators, signifying a complete oversight. 20 Soaring Towards Sustainability: Decarbonizing India’s Aviation Industry for Greener Future, Fin. Express (Jan. 20, 2024), https://www. financialexpress. com/business/airlines-aviation-soaring-towards-sustainabilitydecarbonizing-indias-aviation-industry-for-greener-future-3676931/ Ever since the biojet test flight conducted by SpiceJet way back in 2018, the narrative surrounding SAF has gained traction but subsequently stagnated.
Currently, there are no strong financial incentives or policies that India possesses which would SAF help overcome the cost defiance hurdles which lie three to six times higher than JET fuel. Due to the parameters such as lack of supplementation like government backed carbon credits and feedstock support programs that serve directly intent blending set forth supporting mandates means without these barriers are pushed, adoption will lose to niche experimentation frameworks. Compounding these monitor framing issues within prospective policies inclusion the absence fuels catapulted into the mainstream underdoing that policy tangential effort will put SAF’s.
But for India, a sturdy level of aerial frameworks of carbon certification systems SAF do not claim jurisdiction bound logics enable folds lifecycle emissions expenditures slash footprint make rely scope green credential markings is where clear put consider claim challenge under owing lacking carve pose. Overall, the as of now provided reason concludes marks outside emains just reason claiming logo strong put. India’s aviation sector must now make a decisive turn. A binding SAF blending policy, emissions-linked incentives for fleet modernization, airport infrastructure mandates focused on renewable energy and circular waste systems, and the integration of ecological jurisprudence— such as that seen in Hanuman Laxman Aroskar v. Union of India—into airport clearances are no longer progressive ideals but necessary safeguards.
As other nations embed green aviation deep into their regulatory and economic structures, India’s delayed action risks not only environmental degradation but also commercial isolation in a future governed by carbon accountability. The sky may be open, but the future of Indian aviation will be determined not by how high it flies, but by how responsibly it lands.