New Zealand's first electric fire truck is now ready to serve at Christchurch Airport. Photo: Supplied
Christchurch Airport has welcomed New Zealand's first electric fire truck.
But while the airport says the purchase is part of it commitment to sustainability and a step towards its goal of a zero-emissions fleet, one sustainable tourism expert is unimpressed.
Griffith University professor James Higham said the emissions saved by electrifying a fire appliance would be "insignificant and inconsequential" - a fraction of the airport's total emissions.
About half of global tourism emissions - which have been growing at double the rate of the economy - came from aviation, Higham said.
He said a cynic might accuse the airport of corporate greenwashing, and appealed for it to disclose what percentage of the airport's total carbon emissions the fire trucks were responsible for.
A spokesperson said Christchurch Airport already disclosed all its greenhouse gas emissions.
They said emissions from airport operations sit at 280 tonnes CO2e per year, of which the fire truck fleet would be around 45t CO2e - about 16 percent.
The airports aviation emissions sit at about 800,000t CO2e - the truck fleet accounts for 0.0056 percent.
The spokesperson said the airport was not suggesting an electric fire truck would solve aviation emissions, rather that it takes "every available step within our control" to reduce emissions.
Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said the airport was playing its part, addressing what it can directly influence, like the vehicle electrification and fostering sustainable fuel research.
He said the airport will replace all its fire trucks with electric versions over time, and had just finalised a deal for a larger e-Panther truck, due in 2026.
Firefighters at Christchurch Airport drill with their new electric fire truck. Photo: Supplied
Watson said the new truck has improved safety and operational features as well, alongside the electrification.
He said the airport also had other initiatives, such as the Kōwhai Park solar farm and a newly announced hydrogen test facility in partnership with New Zealand company Fabrum.
Rosenbauer Australia managing director Arthur Weimer said while Christchurch was ahead of the pack - second only to Paris, who pipped it to the post by just a few weeks to be the first airport in the world with an electric truck - the company, the oldest continually operating firefighting equipment manufacturer, was no novice.
Weimer said while the vehicle was purely electric, there was a standby diesel engine on board to drive the pump and recharge the battery when needed.
But Professor Higham said airports will need to work much harder to make a dent in its emissions, and dismissed alternative fuels such as hydrogen as "techno-fantasies".
"It's grasping for technological solutions to problems that are reaching crisis point right now without any disclosure of the realistic time frames for those technologies to be available at scale to make any difference to emissions."
He wanted to see airports retreat from expansion, and focus more on systemic changes to reduce aviation emissions than comparatively minor operational emissions.
"Airports continue to seek to expand the routes they serve, Christchurch Airport is no exception. It's seeking to expand services and even to justify building a new airport in Central Otago, which would of course be a major source of emissions. Seeking public attention for the electrification of the fire engine is almost laughable in the circumstances."
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