ICAO members endorse new 2050 vision on use of sustainable jet fuels

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Member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have agreed on a new 2050 Vision for Sustainable Aviation Fuels which will now help to ensure that conventional jet fuels are substituted with sustainable alternatives to a significant percentage by 2050.

The decision was formalized last October 13 at the Second ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels, held in Mexico City, Mexico. Member states endorsed ICAO’s new vision to guide upcoming actions of states and the industry, and called on them to make sure that a considerable portion of current conventional aviation fuels would be replaced with sustainable alternatives by 2050, ICAO said in a release.

States’ delegates also confirmed that any related alternative fuel deployment must adhere to the sustainability criteria currently being developed by a task force at ICAO, which includes states, international organizations, and environmental groups.

ICAO Council president Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu stressed the need for this new vision, noting that aviation’s emissions reduction progress—currently being achieved through technological innovation and streamlined operations—will be insufficient to meet the sector’s 2020 ICAO targets.

“Even after these have been accounted for, we are still left with a significant mitigation requirement,” he cautioned. “Sustainable alternative fuels are critical to closing this gap.”

Aliu also noted that a number of airports have begun offering sustainable aviation fuels to airlines interested in purchasing them, and that this approach has led to more than 40,000 sustainable aviation fuels flights being conducted since they were first introduced.

“Through these numerous actions, the aviation sector has now supplied the proof of concept for sustainable aviation fuels, confirming their operational viability and the feasibility of producing them in sustainable ways which lessen the impact of aviation on the climate,” he added.

Since ICAO’s first conference on this topic in 2009, significant progress has occurred, including an internationally recognized alternative fuels specification, five conversion processes approved for their production, and reductions in production costs.

“The new ICAO Vision agreed at the Mexico event will now help guide international civil aviation stakeholders as they work to employ sustainable fuel alternatives and significantly reduce aviation emissions,” said the statement.

A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity, and environmental protection, among many other priorities. The organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 191 member states.

Photo: David Monniaux