Riga Airport (RIX) has become the first climate-neutral airport in the Baltic region, achieving Level 3+ accreditation under the global Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme after offsetting all directly generated CO₂e emissions, RIX said on its website on November 4.

The certification is an important step in Riga Airport’s progress towards its NetZero 2035 goal and reflects years of systematic efforts to manage and reduce emissions. Since joining the ACA programme in 2015, the airport has implemented a range of initiatives to improve energy efficiency, adopt renewable energy sources, and promote sustainable transport across its operations.

Thanks to these measures, Riga Airport has significantly cut its direct emissions, with the remaining share in 2024 offset through verified carbon credits.

“The ACA Level 3+ certificate is a major achievement on our journey towards NetZero 2035,” said Laila Odina, chairperson of the board of Riga Airport. “This recognition confirms our commitment to measurable climate impact reduction and demonstrates that sustainable aviation growth is possible when environmental responsibility is embedded in daily operations.”

The Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, developed and managed by Airports Council International (ACI), is the world’s only globally recognised carbon management framework tailored for airports. It assesses airports’ efforts to manage and reduce emissions across seven levels –  from Mapping (Level 1) to full Transition to Net Zero (Level 5). Of the 615 accredited airports worldwide, only 30 have reached Level 3+.