The member States of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an intergovernmental organisation which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, on Friday agreed at the forty-first ICAO Assembly to adopt net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 as a ‘long-term aspirational goal’ (LTAG). More than 2 500 delegates from 184 States and 57 organisations attended the assembly, which took place under the presidency of South African Civil Aviation Authority director-general Poppy Khoza, the first woman to preside over an ICAO Assembly.

“States’ adoption of this new long-term goal for decarbonised air transport, following the similar commitments from industry groups, will contribute importantly to the green innovation and implementation momentum which must be accelerated over the coming decades to ultimately achieve emissions-free powered flight,” affirmed ICAO Council president Salvatore Sciacchitano. (The ICAO Council and the ICAO Assembly are distinct from each other.)

The implementation of the LTAG will be dependent on a number of initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. These include increasing the production and availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as well as speeding up the adoption of streamlined flight operations and new and innovative aircraft technologies.

Regarding SAF in particular, the States at the forty-first Assembly gave full support to the new ICAO Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for SAF programme. This is intended to give impetus to the deployment and use of SAF. The States also requested that ICAO convene a third conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels next year. They further highlighted the importance of viable support, in the form of financing and investment, to reach the new CO₂-emissions goals.

The forty-first Assembly moreover completed the first periodic review of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, and agreed on a new baseline for it, which would take effect from 2024. This new baseline is defined as being 85% of 2019’s level of CO₂ emissions. In addition, revised percentages for individual and sectoral ‘growth factors’ (used to calculate the carbon-emissions offsetting requirements from 2030 on) were agreed.

“Countries have achieved some tremendous and very important diplomatic progress at this event, and on topics of crucial importance to the future sustainability of our planet and the air transport system which serves and connects its populations,” highlighted ICAO secretary-general Juan Carlos Salazar.