Alternative Fuels: Questions and Answers

7. WHAT IS ICAO DOING IN THE FIELD OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS?

The recognition of alternative fuels as a key part of the basket of measures under consideration by ICAO Member States to stabilize emissions from international aviation at their 2020 levels is reflected in ICAO policies and practices related to environmental protection.

ICAO is actively engaged in activities to promote and facilitate the emergence of sustainable alternative fuels in aviation by exchanging and disseminating of information, fostering dialogue among States and stakeholders, and carrying out dedicated work as requested by ICAO Member States to inform decision making.

In this regard, ICAO held a Seminar on Alternative Fuels at ICAO Headquarters from 8 - 9 Febrary 2017, which set the stage for a Conference on Alternative Fuels to be held later in 2017.

What is the ICAO policy related to alternative fuels?
The 38th Session of the ICAO Assembly, held from 24 September to 4 October 2013, adopted Resolution A38-18: Consolidated Statement of continuing ICAO policies and practices related to environmental protection – Climate change.

Regarding alternative fuels, the Resolution requests States to:

Set a coordinated approach in their national administrations in order to develop coordinated national policy actions to accelerate the appropriate development, deployment and use of sustainable alternative fuels for aviation, in accordance with their national circumstances;

Consider measures to support research and development as well as processing technology and feedstock production in order to decrease costs and support scale-up of sustainable production pathways up to commercial scale, taking into account the sustainable development of States;

Recognize existing approaches to assess the sustainability of all alternative fuels in general, including those for use in aviation which should:
Achieve net GHG emissions reductions on a life cycle basis;
Respect areas of high importance for biodiversity, conservation and benefits from ecosystems;
Contribute to local social and economic development, and avoid competition with food and water;

Adopt measures to ensure the sustainability of alternative fuels for aviation, building on existing approaches or combination of approaches, and monitor, at a national level, the sustainability of the production of alternative fuels for aviation; and

Work together through ICAO and other relevant international bodies, to exchange information and best practices, including on the sustainability of alternative fuels for aviation.

What is the role of ICAO in the development and deployment of alternative fuels?
Resolution A38-18 includes a strong mandate for ICAO in the area of alternative fuels. It requests the Council to:

Encourage member States and invite industry, financial institutions and other international organizations to actively participate in exchange of information and best practices and in further work under ICAO on sustainable alternative fuels for aviation;

Continue to maintain the ICAO Global Framework for Aviation Alternative Fuels (GFAAF);

Collect information on progress of alternative fuels in aviation, including through States’ action plans, to give a global view of the future use of alternative jet fuels and to account for changes in life cycle GHG emissions in order to assess progress toward achieving global aspirational goals; and

Work with financial institutions to facilitate access to financing infrastructure development projects dedicated to sustainable aviation alternative fuels and incentives to overcome initial market hurdles.

What are the past and current achievements of ICAO in the field of alternative fuels?