Mactan-Cebu International Airport

Mactan-Cebu International Airport has become the first and only airport in the Philippines to earn ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Level 2, a certification that requires more than a promise to reduce emissions — it requires independently audited proof that they have actually gone down. The accreditation was announced August 26 by Airports Council International in Asia-Pacific and Middle East (ACI APAC & MID), making MCIA the only Philippine airport to clear the threshold that separates carbon accounting from verified carbon action.

The achievement is significant because MCIA handled 11.6 million passengers in 2025 — a number that grew another 15 percent in January 2026 when it set a single-month record of 1.3 million passengers — making its carbon-intensity reduction all the harder to deliver. Six specific engineering interventions, each targeting a different slice of the airport's Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, produced the result that ACI APAC & MID confirmed with its certification announcement.

The certification was independently verified against the ACA program's requirements: every participating airport's carbon footprint is assessed by one of 117 independent auditors operating across 36 countries, under the ISO 14064 international greenhouse gas accounting standard.

What Level 2 Actually Certifies

The ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation program launched in June 2009 and now covers more than 560 airports globally. It uses a seven-tier framework verified by 117 independent auditors across 36 countries, with each airport's carbon footprint measured against ISO 14064, the international greenhouse gas accounting standard.

Level 1, called "Mapping," requires an airport to establish its carbon footprint and secure top-management commitment to reduction. Level 2, called "Reduction," goes further: it requires all of Level 1's conditions plus a specific carbon emissions reduction target, a Carbon Management Plan, and documented proof of an actual year-on-year reduction in emissions compared to a three-year rolling average baseline. That distinction matters. Level 1 produces a measurement; Level 2 produces a result. An airport at Level 1 has quantified its problem. An airport at Level 2 has begun solving it — in a way that a certified third party has confirmed.

Higher tiers add progressively more demanding requirements. Level 3 requires engaging airlines, cargo handlers, and ground operators at the airport to reduce their own emissions. Level 3+ adds full carbon neutrality through offsets. Level 4 and Level 4+ align the airport with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C pathway and require absolute emissions reduction targets — not just intensity improvements. Level 5, introduced in 2023, requires at least 90 percent absolute Scope 1 and 2 reductions under ISO Net Zero Guidelines.

MCIA's 90-percent emission-intensity reduction target by 2029 — if achieved — would place it in striking range of Level 4, making it potentially the first Philippine airport ever to enter Paris-aligned certification territory.

Is What ACA Measures Really Decarbonization?

A fair question: the ACA framework's Scope 1 and 2 coverage spans the airport operator's direct fuel burns and purchased electricity. It does not include Scope 3 emissions, the largest category, which covers aircraft fuel burn during flight. Aviation's Scope 3 output dwarfs everything that happens on the ground.

The airport industry as a whole accounts for roughly 5 percent of aviation's total carbon emissions. Aircraft fuel burn produces the rest. So why does ACA Level 2 matter?

Because airport operators directly control Scope 1 and 2. They cannot change how efficiently an Airbus A320 burns fuel at 35,000 feet. They can change how long that aircraft runs its auxiliary power unit at the gate. They can electrify the vehicles that service it. They can generate their own clean electricity on-site. These interventions are available now, with existing technology, at costs that are already being justified by operating savings — and they can be independently verified, producing an auditable emissions record rather than an estimate.

MCIA is operating under ICAO's Long-Term Aspirational Goal of net-zero carbon for international aviation by 2050, adopted at the 41st ICAO Assembly in October 2022. The ground-level work is the piece airports can actually deliver against that goal today.

Six Technologies, Six Emission Sources — How Each One Works

MCIA's Level 2 certification rests on a layered approach rather than a single large project. Each of six interventions targets a distinct emission source in the airport's operational footprint.

Rooftop solar — cutting purchased-electricity demand. MCIA installed a 1.64-megawatt-peak rooftop photovoltaic system that generates electricity directly from Cebu's high solar irradiance. A 1.64 MWp system in a tropical location with strong year-round sun typically generates approximately 2,000 to 2,400 megawatt-hours per year, depending on panel orientation and shading — enough to offset a meaningful portion of terminal electricity demand. By generating electricity on-site from sunlight rather than purchasing it from the grid (which in the Philippines still draws substantially from fossil fuel sources), MCIA reduces its Scope 2 carbon intensity per passenger handled.

Building Management System and smart sensors — cutting HVAC waste. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is the single largest electricity consumer in a tropical terminal environment. MCIA's SCADA-based Building Management System monitors the terminal in real time using IoT sensor networks, adjusting HVAC output dynamically based on occupancy, ambient temperature, and airflow requirements rather than running at fixed setpoints around the clock. Airport terminal deployments of similar BMS technology document substantial HVAC energy reductions after implementation.

LED lighting — eliminating continuous baseline waste. Conversion of all terminal lighting to LED technology reduced the airport's baseline electricity consumption substantially. LED lamps draw 60 to 80 percent less power than the fluorescent and incandescent equivalents they replace, and in a terminal that is illuminated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the compounding annual saving is significant with no ongoing operational intervention required.

Bridge Mounted Equipment — silencing aircraft engines at the gate. This is where MCIA's decarbonization strategy moves from the terminal building to the aircraft itself. Aircraft arriving at a gate need electricity to power their lights, avionics, cabin air conditioning, and galley systems. When no external power is available, the aircraft's Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) — a small jet engine mounted in the tail — runs continuously to supply that power. APUs burn roughly 80 to 100 kilograms of jet fuel per hour, emitting CO₂ and nitrogen oxides directly into the apron environment.

In 2024, MCIA introduced Bridge Mounted Equipment (BME) at its gates. BME is a solid-state frequency converter installed directly in the jetbridge that delivers 115-volt, 400-hertz alternating current — the non-standard frequency required by aircraft electrical systems — via a six-pin aircraft plug, allowing the APU to be shut down completely. BME also supplies pre-conditioned air, replacing the aircraft's own air conditioning driven by APU bleed air. Barcelona El Prat Airport, which mandated fixed ground power from the moment of gate arrival, cut tens of thousands of tonnes of CO₂ per year airport-wide through this single measure.

For MCIA, with dozens of gates handling both domestic and international services, the cumulative impact of eliminating APU runtime is direct, measurable, and falls entirely within the airport's Scope 1 accounting.

Single-Engine Taxi-In procedures — reducing fuel burn on the taxiway. In 2025, airlines operating at MCIA began using Single-Engine Taxi-In (SETI) procedures: after landing and clearing the runway, pilots shut down one engine on their twin-engine jet and taxi the final distance to the gate on a single engine rather than two. This halves the fuel burn during the taxi-in phase. A 2018 peer-reviewed study from Imperial College London modeling 3,510 Heathrow flights found that single-engine taxiing during taxi-in reduced fuel consumption and pollutant emissions by up to 50 percent for the affected taxi segment. Etihad Airways reported saving 7,900 tonnes of fuel — avoiding approximately 24,900 tonnes of CO₂ — in a single reporting period through reduced-engine taxiing procedures.

SETI is a zero-capital intervention: airlines implement it through crew procedures and training, with no infrastructure investment required. The savings appear in MCIA's carbon intensity metrics because the ACA framework measures carbon intensity per traffic unit — and reduced fuel burn at the gate and taxiway reduces the airport's total controlled-emission footprint per passenger.

Electric Ground Support Equipment — decarbonizing the apron fleet. Also in 2025, airlines operating at MCIA adopted full electric ground support equipment (eGSE), replacing diesel-powered baggage tractors, belt loaders, and ground power carts with battery-electric equivalents. Electric GSE produces zero direct CO₂ or nitrogen oxides at the point of use. At an airport where ground operations run continuously across both domestic and international terminals, electrifying the vehicle fleet eliminates what would otherwise be a persistent diesel-combustion source throughout every hour of operations.

Why This Is Difficult for a High-Growth Airport

Decarbonizing a shrinking or static airport is mechanically simpler. When passenger volumes fall, carbon intensity often falls automatically — fewer flights, fewer APU cycles, fewer ground service runs. MCIA's challenge is the opposite: it is growing rapidly while being required by the ACA framework to reduce carbon intensity per traffic unit rather than in absolute terms.

The airport handled more than 11.6 million passengers in 2025. In January 2026 alone it processed 1.3 million passengers, the highest single month in its history, driven in part by eight new international routes added over the course of 2025 — partnerships with Jetstar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Firefly Airlines, and Aero-K among them. A 25 percent year-on-year jump in international traffic means more international-standard wide-body aircraft, more APU cycles, more ground handling activity, and more terminal energy demand.

That MCIA cut carbon intensity against that backdrop — rather than watching it grow proportionally with traffic — is the precise engineering challenge the ACA Level 2 certification verifies. The six-technology stack did not just offset growth; it produced a net downward movement in the ratio of emissions to operations.

Where Cebu Fits in the Asia-Pacific ACA Landscape

MCIA's certification represents meaningful forward movement for Southeast Asian aviation, a region that has lagged behind European and Indian peers in airport-level decarbonization.

In India, Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport reached Level 4+, the Paris-aligned tier — having progressed through Level 3+ carbon neutrality on its way up — becoming one of only a handful of Asia-Pacific airports to do so. Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport both reached Level 4+ Transition, the Paris-aligned tier — Mumbai having climbed from Level 1 in 2012 to Level 4+ by 2022, a decade-long progression.

Southeast Asia has been slower to engage the ACA framework at the reduction level. MCIA's Level 2 achievement is not a statement of parity with these leaders; it is a statement of serious entry into the program at the point where verification becomes meaningful.

The framework's design is intentionally modular — each tier builds on the one before. Mumbai's decade-long climb is the template. An airport that achieves Level 2 today with a 90-percent intensity reduction target by 2029 is following a trajectory, not crossing a finish line.

What the Public-Private Partnership Model Made Possible

MCIA operates under a public-private partnership between the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), the government body that owns the facility, and Aboitiz InfraCapital Cebu Airport Corporation (ACAC), the private operator. ACAC is a subsidiary of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC), the infrastructure investment platform of the Aboitiz Group — a Philippine conglomerate with assets spanning airports, water and wastewater utilities, and digital infrastructure including a hyperscale data center joint venture.

The PPP structure matters for the decarbonization timeline because it separates ownership risk (government) from operational execution risk (private operator). ACAC's incentive to invest in efficiency technology is supported by the concession structure, which ties operational performance to the concession terms over a multi-decade horizon — long enough that capital investments in solar and BMS systems pay back through operating savings.

"This ACA Level 2 validates that our team is making real, measurable progress in embedding sustainability into every aspect of our operations," said Ricia Montejo, MCIA General Manager of ACAC. "By balancing smart energy solutions with world-class service, we are ensuring that Cebu's growth as a premier transfer hub remains environmentally responsible and aligned with global best practices."

Julius G. Neri Jr., General Manager and CEO of MCIAA, described the certification as proof that the PPP model can deliver sustainability outcomes alongside commercial ones. "This achievement is a clear testament to what strong public-private synergy can deliver for sustainable infrastructure in the Philippines," Neri said. "MCIAA and ACAC remain united in introducing eco-friendly technologies, optimizing airfield efficiency, and building a greener gateway for future generations of travelers."

Aboitiz InfraCapital added Bohol-Panglao International Airport to its portfolio in June 2025 through a 30-year PPP concession and is actively upgrading the Laguindingan International Airport in Mindanao. The company's growing airport portfolio means that MCIA's carbon management framework — if exportable — could provide a direct template for how Aboitiz InfraCapital approaches decarbonization across its entire Philippine aviation footprint.

Does Decarbonizing an Airport's Footprint Actually Matter for the Climate?

The honest answer is: compared to in-flight emissions, airport ground operations are a minor contribution. Aviation as a sector accounts for roughly 2 to 3 percent of global CO₂ emissions, and within that, airport operators control only around 5 percent of the industry's total carbon output. Aircraft fuel burn in the cruise phase is the dominant factor.

But the claim that airport decarbonization "doesn't matter much" relative to flight-level emissions conflates two different questions: scale and controllability. Airport operators cannot force aircraft to burn less fuel at altitude. They can eliminate APU runtime at gates, electrify ground fleets, generate renewable electricity on-site, and optimize HVAC — and they can do it today, with commercially available technology, at costs already being justified by operating savings. The ACA framework exists because independently verified progress at the airport level keeps pressure on operators and airlines to take the same rigor to the pieces they do control.

For MCIA specifically, ACA Level 2 also creates a reputational signaling function. An airport with verified, independently audited carbon reduction data can attract airlines that are managing their own Scope 3 emissions inventories — where aircraft operations at the airport are included — and is better positioned for increasingly stringent environmental operating requirements as ICAO's 2050 net-zero goal drives regulatory changes downstream.

What Does Carbon-Neutral Airport Operation Actually Require?

To reach Level 3+ Neutrality under the ACA framework — the tier where some leading Asian airports currently sit — MCIA would need to go beyond Scope 1 and 2 reductions and begin engaging third-party operators: airlines, cargo handlers, and ground agents, asking them to reduce their own airport-based emissions or join offset programs. Level 3+ also requires offsetting all residual direct emissions that cannot be eliminated through technology.

That is a qualitatively different kind of work: relationship management, contractual negotiation, and supply chain engagement rather than in-house engineering. Whether MCIA's current PPP model can accommodate that scale of stakeholder coordination is the next organizational question its decarbonization program will face.

The 90-percent intensity reduction target by 2029 addresses the engineering part. The stakeholder part will determine whether MCIA can close the remaining distance to carbon neutrality.

Originally published on Tech Times