One of the main missions of EASA is to achieve a high level of environmental protection in the field of aviation, which includes reducing the impact of the aviation sector on climate.
As a consequence of the climate crisis, climate change is also impacting aviation, with increasing occurrences of severe weather events resulting in an increasing exposure of aviation to weather hazards.
Maintaining a high level of safety for passengers and aviation professionals is paramount. That’s why adaptation of aviation to climate change is part of EASA’s priorities.
How can climate change impact aviation safety?
In the report Climate Change 2021 - The Physical Science Basis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) explains that every increase of the global mean air surface temperature magnifies the impacts of severe weather events, such as storms, hurricanes, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, flooding, droughts, etc.
Such severe weather events are sources of hazards (hail encounter, lightning strike, runway flooding, low-level wind shear, etc). In addition, research works indicate that climate change may also increase the exposure of aviation to clear air turbulence, although this hazard is not related to severe weather events.
These hazards may affect for example:
- flight operations;
- aircraft’s airworthiness (in short, the ability to fly safely) and performance;
- reliability and performance of Air Traffic Management and Air Navigation Services' equipment and airports’ safety services, which can be reduced if they become more exposed to unforeseen weather conditions.
Surveys made by different international organisations, like the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and EUROCONTROL show that many companies in the aviation sector are anticipating or already experiencing effects of climate change on their activities.
EASA’s work to help aviation adapt to climate change
In 2021, EASA concluded that scientific knowledge necessary to assess the risks caused by climate change was often not accessible to aviation stakeholders, and that to close this knowledge gap, it was necessary to bring together scientists and aviation experts.
Then, in 2022, EASA launched a task force under the guidance of its Scientific Committee to review and summarise the scientific works on past and future weather hazard trends.
In addition, EASA started in 2023 the European Network on Impact of Climate Change on Aviation (EN-ICCA), a large network of experts from the aviation industry, national aviation authorities, research organisations and national meteorological services. This network supports: aviation stakeholders in better preparing for the effects of climate change on safety; and scientists in identifying the research priorities regarding the impact of climate change for the aviation sector.
The assessments and recommendations produced by the EASA’s Scientific Committee and the EN-ICCA will help the aviation sector and EASA to best manage the impact of climate change and maintain a high level of safety in aviation.
Adaptation to climate change is a strategic priority for the EU
At the European Union (EU) level, the European Commission adopted the ‘EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change’ in 2021. In addition, the so-called ‘European Climate Law’ requires EU institutions and the Member States ‘to ensure continuous progress in enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change’.
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