It has pledged to prioritise zero carbon airport operations rather than pursuing carbon offsets, which chief executive Nick Barton described as “the least favourable option”.

The UK government in June enshrined in law a requirement to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to a net zero by 2050.

Birmingham though has vowed to reduce its carbon footprint “further and quicker”.

The airport says it has cut emissions by a third since 2013, and emissions per passenger more than 50%.

This comes despite growing passenger numbers 40% during the same period.

Birmingham believes its biggest opportunity to reduce its carbon reliance will come via generating renewable energy on-site.

Barton said the pace of technological change and the movement to a net zero carbon economy was “driving innovation across the energy and transportation industry”, creating opportunities to accelerate its transition.

“Over the next six to 12 months, we will be working to revise our existing carbon management plan and develop a roadmap,” said Barton. “This will allow us to set and prioritise genuine carbon reduction objectives rather than carbon off-setting schemes, as we see this as the least favourable option.

“We don’t have all the answers about how we will hit this target, but we are confident that through innovation and collaboratively working with industry, government, manufacturers, on-site partners and employees, we can reach our target by 2033.”

Birmingham says it is working with the Sustainable Aviation coalition of airlines, airports aerospace firms and air traffic control teams towards a “common goal” of “cleaner, quieter and smarter aviation”. Sustainable Aviation is currently working on a new decarbonisation roadmap, its fourth.

Barton added Birmingham was fully supportive of the UK’s airspace modernisation programme.

“We’ve already delivered changes to our airspace and we will continue to work with the CAA, Sustainable Aviation and airline partners to help reduce aircraft emissions further.”

The airport is also working on a new updated sustainability strategy, to be published later this month.

The strategy will outline the airport’s vision to tackle key environmental and community impacts over the next five years, including noise, carbon, waste, air quality, water, biodiversity and employment.