ICAO: G20 ministers show strong recognition for aviation-decarbonization initiatives
The recent G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting held in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in early October gave significant recognition to the International Civil Aviation Organization for its efforts to decarbonize the aviation sector.
ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar actively participated in the event, emphasizing the critical role of aviation’s clean-energy transition in the global energy landscape and advocating for ICAO’s ongoing initiatives to the G20 energy ministers.
At the Roundtable on “Unlocking Future Fuels” on Oct. 3, Salazar emphasized the importance of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and clean energies in achieving ICAO’s long-term global aspirational goal (LTAG) of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“We are already witnessing significant progress across the fuel-industry value chain, and this is just the beginning,” Salazar said.
He highlighted that 125 airports are now distributing SAF globally, with more than 330 facilities producing it.
SAF is currently approved for up to 50 percent blending with conventional jet fuel, with aims for 100 percent SAF commercial operations in the near future.
The secretary general shared key statistics on SAF:
Over 40 national/regional policies on SAF have been adopted or are under development.
More than 50 billion liters (13.2 billion gallons) of SAF are covered by offtake agreements.
Over 40 SAF feedstocks are now recognized under ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
Salazar also participated in the G20 special session on “Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals and Materials” on Oct. 4, where he emphasized the importance of ICAO’s global framework for SAF, lower-carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and other cleaner aviation energy.
This framework, adopted at the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels in Dubai last November, aims to facilitate the global scale-up in the development, production and deployment of cleaner aviation energy.
“Through this framework, ICAO and its member states will strive to reduce international aviation CO2 emissions by 5 percent by 2030 through the use of aviation cleaner energies,” Salazar stated.
The secretary general also highlighted ICAO’s ongoing efforts to support states and stakeholders in scaling up and the financing of sustainable fuels.
He discussed the ICAO Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ACT-SAF) program, which provides tailored support to over 180 states and organizations in various stages of SAF development and deployment.
Next steps
Salazar presented the ICAO Finvest Hub in Brazil.
This new initiative will facilitate access to public and private financing for aviation-decarbonization projects.
The Finvest initiative took a significant step forward during the G20 meeting with the signing of a supporting memorandum of cooperation between ICAO and the International Renewable Energy Agency.
“ICAO’s activities and achievements during the G20 Energy Ministerial Meeting have significantly amplified the global momentum towards the organization’s decarbonization goals, catalyzing international collaboration and paving the way for more rapid implementation of sustainable aviation initiatives worldwide,” ICAO stated.
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