ICAO Council President focuses on “Net Zero” goal in remarks to European Parliament

 In an address to the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on 7 November 2022, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano highlighted and welcomed the European Union’s strong support of the 41st ICAO Assembly’s Resolutions on the decarbonization of the global aviation sector: 

• On a new long-term global aspirational goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 for international aviation, in support of the Paris Agreement temperature goal; and 
• On the first review of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), to secure its strong environmental integrity. 

 

The President addressed the Committee remotely from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where he was participating in COP 27. 

 

Mr. Sciacchitano provided an overview of how the ICAO Council and Secretariat are supporting the implementation of these Resolutions. 

 

He underscored the continued successful implementation of CORSIA, despite the severe impact of the pandemic on the global air transport sector, and highlighted the crucial support of the European Union for ICAO’s Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ACT-SAF) programme. The European Union was the first entity to commit to financing ACT-SAF, through a Declaration of intent signed by Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean in the margins of the ICAO Assembly. 

 

Finally, the President also re-iterated ICAO’s commitment to cooperating with the European Union and its member states in this area, declaring that “the European Union, which intends to become the first carbon neutral continent with its Green Deal, has very high ambition when it comes to decarbonizing aviation, and I can assure you that ICAO shares this ambition.”

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