Today, 25 countries convened by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rightly rejected the 2050 Vision on Sustainable Aviation Fuels that included volume-based targets as originally proposed by the ICAO Secretariat. Brad Schallert, Deputy Director at World Wildlife Fund and a spokesperson for the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation, a network of nonprofit organizations representing millions of members, released the following statement in response.
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“ICSA commends ICAO Member States for rejecting the 2050 ICAO Vision on Sustainable Aviation Fuels proposed by the ICAO Secretariat. The proposed volume-based targets for alternative aviation fuel use in 2025, 2040, and 2050 were selected based on poor analysis, and grossly overestimated the environmental benefits and potential emissions reductions.”
“In the early phases of sustainable alternative fuel development, the international aviation sector should continue to prioritize the sustainability and emissions reductions of those fuels, rather than the quantity as eventually recognized in the final Declaration. Producing alternative fuels at scale globally is inherently risky and should be approached with caution. Today, by rejecting the proposed ICAO Vision on Alternative Aviation Fuels, the international community affirmed that a precautionary approach is needed.”
“Aviation is a top-ten global polluter and emissions are only expected to increase. In ICSA’s view, the 2050 ICAO Vision on Sustainable Aviation Fuels should primarily inspire innovation and technological breakthroughs at a level required to meet the challenge of mitigating international aviation’s climate impact.”
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Additional information on the true environmental footprint of the original 2050 Vision on Sustainable Aviation Fuels proposed by the ICAO Secretariat is available here.
Note to editors:
[1] The International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA) works to reduce pollution from air travel. As a network of nonprofit organizations representing millions of members, ICSA is the only environmental civil society group accredited as an observer by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN standard-setting body for international air travel.
The proposed Flight Emissions label is a missed opportunity to allow consumers to make truly informed choices.